KH III: Beyond the Kingdom Volume One
by ghostfox12
Summary: Heartless, Nobodies, and a new evil threatens the universe. Can a new keyblader, with the help of Bonkers and Miranda, bring order back to the universe?
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Before you read this fanfic I should tell you that this story does NOT star Sora, Riku, or Kairi. They will occasionally appear in it, but the main character of this story is my OC Trevor. Also, some of the worlds are not Disney or Final Fantasy based. So, if you have a problem with that, go and read some other Kingdom Hearts fanfic. Also this is my first fan fiction, so no FLAMES please.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

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**Kingdom Heart III: Beyond the Kingdom Volume One**

By: ghostfox12

**Prologue: Dive into the Heart**

_I seek a peace that I can never have…_

_I search for you even though you don't exist…_

_Beyond this shattered world, I'll find my true home…_

He felt like he was freefalling into an empty void and slowly opened his eyes.

_And love is not the easy thingThe only baggage that you can bring_

He was falling into a void, but strangely enough, he wasn't afraid.

_Love is not the easy thing_

The collegian felt something warm in his heart. What was it?

_The only baggage you can bringIs all that you can't leave behind..._

In a flash of white light, the nineteen year old found himself at his university. He looked over and saw his best friend in the whole world waving at him. As he started to walk over to him, a great chasm appeared between them and darkness began to rapidly flow from it.

_And if the darkness is to keep us apart_

Suddenly, the young man found himself on a small piece of earth floating in an endless sea of darkness.

_And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off_

He quickly turned around a saw a beautiful blonde woman, about his age holding an object close to her heart.

_And if your glass heart should crackAnd for a second you turn back_

She handed him a heart-shaped pendant that was broken in half, before she looked him straight in the eyes.

_Oh no, be strong_

The young man found himself in the middle of a meadow with the young woman. Colorful cherry blossoms were floating gently in the wind.

_Oh, ohWalk on, walk onWhat you got, they can't steal itNo, they can't even feel itWalk on, walk on_

The beautiful scenery around was starting to fade away. Before it was completely gone, the young woman put her hand on his cheek and mouthed something, before she too faded away. Wait, did she say…?

_Stay safe tonight_

The young man was now standing on top of a building overlooking the college campus that he attended.

_Home...Hard to know what it is, if you never had one_

Something didn't feel right; it was like he didn't belong here, but that's crazy, right?

_Home...I can't say where it is, but I know I'm goingHome..._

Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind and whispered in his ear. The voice sounded so familiar.

_That's where the hurt is..._

The person behind then pulled him off the building and the young man began to plummeted to the ground.

_And I know it achesAnd your heart, it breaksAnd you can only take so much_

_Walk on..._

Instead of hitting the ground, the young man crashed into a body of water. Before long, the nineteen year old realized that he was gently floating down to the ocean floor.

_Leave it behindYou got to leave it behind_

His very dark brown hair waved in the water as his light emerald green eyes wander. Surprisingly, what he found odd was not that he was floating in a dark abyss, but the fact that he was wearing white clothes instead of his usual black attire. He had a white A-shirt covered by a white jacket, was wearing white pants, and black and white tennis shoes.

_All that you fashionAll that you makeAll that you buildAll that you breakAll that you measureAll that you feel_

It was only when his feet touch the bottom of the floor that he realized that he wasn't where he was supposed to be. The very moment he took his first step, the floor seem to crack and turned into dozens, if not, hundreds of doves flying though the air.

_All this you can leave behind_

Not only had the doves startled him, but the floor itself seemed to illuminate. When the light had died down he looked at the floor with amazement; the rocky terrain was replaced by a beautiful stained glass mural.

_All that you reason, it's only timeAnd I'll never fill up all I findAll that you senseAll that you schemeAll you dress-upAll that you've seenAll you createAll that you wreckAll that you hate_

He examined this strange mural; it contained several odd looking people wearing masks and matching red outfits. In the background were a very bulky looking blonde man and a woman stretching her body beyond human capability holding a small baby who was also wearing a mask and a red outfit. In front of them was a teenage girl with violet hair striking a pose as if she was about to summon a force field or something. Lastly was a preadolescent boy with the same blond hair as the man behind him in a runner's stance.

_Don't be afraid, you have so much to learn. _The young man looked around to see where the sudden voice came from, but to no avail. _Your power is great, so great that it was suppress in the depths of your heart for all of these years… _The voice seems to echo from every where at once. Not only that, it seem to come from within him and around him at the same time. _…Because of this your heart and soul shattered… _Suddenly, he heard something cracking; he looked down and the whole mural shattered.

He fell with the broken pieces of glass in the void only to notice that he was falling to another stained glass mural. Unlike his last time, he landed with a loud THUD!!! As he picked himself up, he noticed that this mural was different from the last one. This one featured a boy, probably around ten or twelve years old. What was odd about it is that the boy's eyes were glowing. Not only that, the tattoos that he has on his bald head and his arms were glowing too. Wind, earth, water, and fire seem to surround the boy, and along the edges of the mural were portraits of other people. Before he could study the portraits of the other people further, the voice spoke up again.

_To use your power it must first take shape…_ With that, three pedestals with three different weapons appeared: a sword, a staff, and a shield. _The sword represents power; it can destroy anyone and everything in its wake. The shield represents friendship, it protects all from harm. The staff represents inter wisdom, the strength from within. Choose wisely…_, the voice forewarned. The nineteen year old wonder which weapon he should take, they were all good choices. He wanted power, but friendship and wisdom was important too. He slowly walked up the farthest pedestal where the sword was and grasped the hilt firmly in his hand. Wisdom and friendship means a thing if one doesn't have the power to back it up, he reasoned. The sword then burst into tiny lights and went into his body. _Your path is set… Now choose which weapon you want to give up._ Damn, he wasn't expecting this. If he had known about this, he would have chosen the staff instead. Needless to say, it was going to be a hard decision. He thought about it for a while, then figure that he rather be a wise man with no friends instead of a fool with a lot of them. He walked toward the shield and touches it. It vanished ominously into the darkness. _Remember…_, the voice chimed in of all the sudden. _This is the path you have chosen._

The young man looked toward his right and saw a staircase appearing out of nowhere. When he reached the top of the staircase, he wasn't shocked to see another crazy mural. This one featured a beautiful dark skinned woman with ash blonde hair and next to her was a scholar looking man with a frail body built. Who think of these things, he wondered to himself. _There are times when you will be called to action, when you are forced to fight. It will be wise for you to learn how to defend yourself._ Just then, a whole bunch of Shadows appeared. The young man was shocked and didn't know what to do until the sword appeared in his hand. He began to eliminate the Heartless one by one. There was a strange feeling inside of him. He didn't know why but fighting always comes natural to him, but this time, something was different. He felt as if he could break all laws of physics and do the impossible. When the last Heartless was defeated, a small army of Nobodies appeared. Lucky for our hero they were only Dusks, but he didn't know that. Why should he, he never seen a Heartless or a Nobody in his life. With the greatest of ease, he eliminates the Nobodies just in time for a pathway to appear.

When both his feet were on the next mural, the pathway disappeared. A one way trip, he thought. He turned his attention to the mural laid out before him. Unlike the other murals which seem to be about how colorful the picture could be, this one had a white tint to it. On it was a girl with reddish hair that was tied into pigtails. She was holding a dove and appeared to be trying to talk to it. Next to her was an older looking teen, around his age, with sandy blonde hair looking upwards. Below the girl was a strange looking creature wearing a blue shirt with triangles on it. What was it, a poodle, a rabbit, a beaver? He then realizes it was a wallaby of all things. Below the boy was a crazy looking white rabbit wearing a bowtie and red overalls. Finally, in the background above the boy and girl, with his back turned, was another boy with blonde hair wearing a headband and an orange jumpsuit. Before he could study this mural filled with this hodgepodge gathering of characters, the voice chimed in again.

_Beware, for the brighter the light the darker your shadow becomes._ Just then a being made of pure light appeared in font of him. When the being tired to grabbed him, he jumped back and summon his sword. Oddly enough, the illuminant being collapsed in a heap and clouds of darkness began to engulf it. Out of the dark clouds came forth a new being. Our hero almost dropped his sword; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. The being looked exactly like him right down to the kind of clothes he was wearing. The difference was that its skin was milk white, hair and eyes were jet black, and its clothes were in different shades of green. As the doppelganger advanced forward, our hero stepped back. "Wh-what are you?" the young man asked.

The being looked hurt or at least pretended to be. "I'm shocked. After all we have been though Trevor?" Trevor almost tripped over himself; this _thing_ knows who he is. "I _am_ you," the creature said nonchalantly and with that it summons a dark colored keyblade and charged at Trevor. Trevor parried the attack, kicked the doppelganger to the ground, and ran to find an exit out of the crazy place he was in. "You can't leave now," the copy said flatly. "The party is just getting started." Trevor turned to his copy and notices a strange symbol on its forehead, it looked like a heart, but at the bottom was an infinite symbol. "Now…," it continued as it raised its keyblade. "Shall we dance?"

The clone jumped into the air and fired three energy blasts towards Trevor. He dodges each blast with ease, but started to feel his fatigue. When the clone landed, it unleashed a series of onslaughts and combos. _I have to end this now,_ Trevor thought. He then performed a leg sweep to knock the creature off balance. The creature was surprised about this and fell flat on its back. Trevor then plunge the sword into his copy's chest and watched it as it burst into black smoke.

Suddenly, the ground started to quake and the mural was being covered by darkness. The darkness began to pull Trevor down and he struggled to be released. The voice came back to Trevor; _Do not fear the darkness… For you hold the most powerful weapon of all… The key-_

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke drench in sweat; he looked around his dorm room and then put his hands over his eyes. "It was only a dream," he said with a sigh of relief. Out of the blue, a pillow hit his head.

"Come on Trevor," his roommate said. "We gonna be late for class!" Trevor quickly dressed and headed out the door with his roommate. Little did he know that a mysterious figure in a blue cloak was watching him through a window from a distance.

"His power is beginning to awaken..." said the shrouded figure before disappearing into a dark vortex.

**Next Chapter: The Power of Hitsuzen**

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**Author's Notes:** In case if you wondering, the lyrics in the beginning of the story are _Walk On _by U2. I don't own the song, because if I did, I'd be rich. The song actually fits in with the theme of the story pretty well. And I know some of you are wondering why I didn't use a Utada Hikaru song. Well, I figured that different keybladers will hear different singers when they have the dream training them to become keybladers. (Roxas doesn't count, because he's Sora's Nobody, so of course he's going to hear a Utada Hikaru song just like Sora.) Please review.


	2. The Power of Hitsuzen

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.

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**Chapter 1: The Power of Hitsuzen**

"And so cotangent of x must be equal to…," the professor babbled on. Trevor's mind was too occupied to paid attention. He was looking out of the window glazing at the sights of his world, _The City of Lost Angels_. The whole world is covered by a gigantic city, complete with towering skyscrapers and blustering with people. "It's all wrong…," he said quietly to himself. For some reason, all of his life, he felt that he was living in the wrong world.

"What's all wrong, Mr. Birch?" Trevor was surprised to find that his trigonometry professor next to his desk. "Is there something wrong with the way I solve the problem on the board?"

He looked to the board for a second and simply replied, "42. The answer is 42."

The professor shook his head, he was about to scold him when he did a double take and looked at the board with great confusion. "It…it would seem that Mr. Birch was right." He went over to the chalkboard to erase his mistakes. "The correct answer is indeed 42. It would seem, Mr. Birch, that you were paying attention after all." A normal college student would have gloat or at least make some joke that he was smarter than the teacher, but Trevor just turned his attention to the spectator view that was his world.

**KH-KH-KH**

Sergeant Francis Q. Grating, a short, balding, middle age cop, rubbed his temples as he sat in his office. As if it wasn't hard enough to be a cop in this world, now he had to send two of his subordinates to another world completely?! Oh well…, at least he hated these two. "Miranda, Bonkers, get your butts in here!!! On the double!!!" he yelled in the intercom.

Several seconds later a very attractive blonde woman came in: she was wearing a blue cop uniform. "Sergeant Miranda Wright toon division reporting sir!"

After her came a bobcat with his foot stuck in the garbage pail, struggling to get it off. "Miranda's junior partner Bonkers D. Bobcat here sir!" He then kick his leg in the air which got the pail off his leg, but miraculously it bounced off the walls four times before hitting Sergeant Grating on the head.

"Yeoohhh!!! **Bbbbbooonkkkkeeeeerrrrsssss!!!!!!**"

"I'm sorry there boss; it just slipped that's all…" Bonkers said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh Bonkers…" said Miranda with her hand over her head. "What are we ever going to do with you?"

"Hmm, say Sergeant Grating!" Bonkers quickly trying to change the subject. "Why did ya bring us in here for, huh?"

"Oh that…" Grating said as he lean back into his chair. "This department received a letter…"

"From a secret admirer?" Bonkers said with a dreamy look in his eyes.

"Not from a secret admirer you twit!!! From King Mickey!!!!!!!!"

"King Mickey!!!" the bobcat gasped.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Miranda asked.

"Are you kidding, we are like this," the cartoon bobcat crossed his fingers. "Two peas in a pod, that's what we are! Back when I was an actor I used to go to his world and entertain him!"

"His world?" Miranda said, obviously confused.

"You see, Sergeant Wright," Grating began. "There some things that the politicians, some high ranking law enforcement officers, and the toons only know about."

"Like what?"

"The existences of other worlds, parallel dimensions, you know, crap like that."

"You expect me to believe that? You're starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist, Sergeant."

"It's true Miranda," Bonkers chimed in. "Other worlds do exist. I only been to Castle Disney, but I heard there are an infinite amount of worlds out here!"

"Okay…, what does that have to do with us?"

"His majesty specify asked for you two to help him with something," Sergeant Grating said with a huff.

"Excuse me sir, but if this king is from another world, he does not have the authority or the jurisdiction to tell us what to do."

"Well…, not exactly. We own him a huge favor."

"For what?!!"

"For locking the keyhole of this world that's what!!! Here, you can read this letter as you go to Professor Ludwig von Drake's lab. Well, why are you standing around here?!! We're not paying you to stand around, get to work, chop-chop!!!!"

It took Miranda and Bonkers a half an hour to reach von Drake's laboratory; it was there they took the time to read the king's letter. Bonkers only paid half attention, he was too busy looking at all of von Drake's inventions; most of them are covered with dust due to disuse. His laboratory was also filled with beakers, glasses, and tubes all filled with mysterious multicolored liquids going to and fro from one container to another. "Whoa, now that's some heavy stuff," von Drake said as he wiped off his spectacles. "Creatures from the deepest, darkest darkness devouring whole worlds. You, my friends, have your work cut out for you," the gray haired, lab coat wearing duck said.

"I think this is great!" Bonkers said with enthusiasm. "This is the biggest case we have yet! I can't wait to get started!! And who knew that the king himself was here only a few months ago?! And why hasn't he dropped me a line, hmm?"

"It says here, Bonkers," Miranda said as she looked over the letter for a third time. "That the king was in a hurry and needed to protect other worlds from the darkness…"

"So he locked the keyhole to this world before the Heartless had a chance to come to this world," Professor von Drake finished.

"So Doc, can you do it?" Bonkers asked.

"Well this machine here is only wired to teleport people to Castle Disney, but I think I can reprogram it to take you guys to…what was the name of the world again?"

Miranda look at the letter again "It says that we must go to _The City of Lost Angels._"

"_The City of Lost Angels_," repeated von Drake. "What a gloomily name for a world, ya?"

"And it is there we will find the next person chosen to be a Keyblade Master!! Once we find him we will travel the worlds, defeating villains and rescuing damsels," Bonkers said as he used a lead pipe as if it was a sword, only to hit himself on the head with it.

"Well, while I work on the machine, you guys changed into these clothes," the genius duck said as he tossed them a pair of clothes.

"Why would we need to change clothes?" Miranda asked quizzically.

"Because, my dear, both of you need to blend in as best as you can; to protect the world order. Besides, these clothes are far more comfortable, then those police uniforms that you are wearing."

Bonkers changed into a lime turtleneck sweater that has a dark green strip on it, while Miranda changed into a powder-blue, short sleeved, button down shirt and some navy jeans. When they were finish changing, von Drake had the machine ready. It was a huge device, with a glass chamber. Lights flashed on and off as the duck professor pressed some buttons on the machine's console.

"What's that you are carrying Miranda?" Bonkers asked inquisitively, pointing at the laptop she was carrying.

"Oh this? I thought it would be a good idea to record our experiences while traveling across worlds. You know, like an adventure log."

"Good, you're ready," von Drake said without looking up. "Step into the glass chamber and we'll get started!" As Bonkers and Miranda followed his instructions, he began to set the coordinates for the world. "Now I'm 12% sure that the World-Porter 9000 will get you to your destination safely."

"And the other 88%?" Miranda asked nervously.

"You will die in a huge explosion." von Drake said matter-of-factly.

Before Miranda could objection, he pressed a button and the whole glass chamber filled with light. Ten seconds later Bonkers and Miranda were nowhere to be seen. Upon reflection von Drake wondered out loud, "Maybe it would have been safer for them to use a gummi ship instead?" He thought about the subject for a couple of seconds. "All well," he shrugged nonchalantly, "What happened, happened."

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor was walking out of class with his friend and roommate Vince. Vince had black hair long enough to almost cover his eyes. He was wearing some brown slacks, a pale green T-shirt with a blue vest. He was also Trevor's only friend in the world; he never really felt connected with anything in the world expect for Vince. Trevor on the other hand was wearing a white muscle tee with a black leather jacket. He also had on black jeans that have a key chain attach to them and black and white sneakers. "Man that was so hilarious when you correct Professor Crowell in class today!" Vince laughed joyously. "For a minute there he didn't know if he was comin' or goin'!"

"Hmm-mm," was the only thing Trevor said.

Vince stopped for a moment and thought about this. He came to a conclusion that Trevor was just in one of he moods. "Ya know people are still disappearing," he said to change the subject. "People are now blamin' it now those strange creatures everybody keeps seein'."

"There are no strange creatures," Trevor sighed. "It's all just mass hysteria. As for the disappearance of all those people, well, that's nothing strange. I mean, people disappear all the time, the difference now is that people are starting to notice it."

"You probably right… So what do ya think those creatures are, ya know, the ones everybody keeps seein'?"

"Probably a small dog, maybe…a…cat…? Do you notice something odd around here?"

"You mean the professors?" Vince laughed jokingly.

"No, I'm serious. Something not right here." They both looked around and saw nothing. "Nobody's around," Trevor whispered. "Nobody's here."

"Maybe everyone's in class," suggested Vince who began feeling chills down his spine.

"At a college campus? No, there are always at least a few groups of people outside, always. Especially now since this is the start of a new semester." The whole campus was like a ghost town, expect for them there was not another living soul. "I know this is college and everybody is free to leave at any point of time, but it's only ten o'clock in the morning for Pete's sake."

"Look!!" Trevor looked where Vince was pointing and found several dark portals on the ground ten feet in front of him. Out of every portal came forth the dark body of a Neoshadow. "I think we should get out of here." But when they turned around they only found more Neoshadows; they were completely surrounded. "Not good…"

"Ya think?!" Trevor said annoyed. All of a sudden, a Neoshadow charged forward and plunged its hand deep into Vince's chest and pull out his heart. "VINCE!!!" but it was too late, Vince disappeared with a puff of black smoke and so did his heart. Unsatisfied with its meal, the Heartless then charged at Trevor, but before it reached him, Trevor kicked the Heartless so hard that it went flying though a classroom window. "These look like the creatures from my dreams…what are they?"

"They are called Heartless," said a voice matter-of-factly. Trevor turned to see where the voice was coming from and saw a woman on top of one of the buildings wearing an elegant black dress. Her black hair was in a style of a high raking woman in Japan's feudal era and she was wearing a necklace with matching earrings that had the symbol of the crescent moon. Her eyes were not cold and unattached, but very stern. To the left of the strange woman was an awkward looking high school boy with glasses holding what looked like a black stuffed rabbit; he seem to be the only one of the two who was nervous about the Heartless. "They go to world to world feasting on the hearts of the weak," the woman continued. "And when they had their fill, they take the heart of the world itself and then that world fades into darkness…"

"And who are you?" Trevor said making sure he kept his distance from the surrounding Heartless.

"My name is Yuko," the woman answered. "I'm a witch that grants wishes. I came from a long way just to see you, Trevor Birch. I don't make 'house calls' every often."

"A long way huh?" Trevor said as he punched a Heartless. "Just to see me… If you know so much, tell me what happen to Vince."

There was a long pause before anyone spoke up, the only thing that broke the silence so the occasional grunting that Trevor made as he fought the Heartless with his bare hands. "Your friend," Yuko finally said at last. "Was swallowed by the darkness. Normally once that happens a person can never come back. However…," she paused for dramatic effect. "I sense your friend's heart, body, and soul. I also sensed that somehow he managed to bring all three of them together while he was in the darkness thus keeping his identity. I imagine he is now somewhere out there among the many worlds. In order to do this, your friend probably have some strange power that prevents him being swallowed by the darkness."

"Okay…," Trevor smashed a Neoshadow's head on the pavement. "How do we get him back? And why don't you help me?"

"For starters, Mr. Birch, my powers are only for granting wishes. Second, only you have the power to bring your friend back here and to defeat the Heartless."

Out of the blue, it started raining. "What?" Trevor said in surprise. "But there is not a cloud in the sky and the sun is still shinning!"

"Ah, so a fox spirit takes a bride," said Yuko with a smile on her face. "And my other customers have finally decided to show up."

Just then, there was an explosion and a huge ball of light appeared over Trevor's head. The Heartless retreated into the shadows, because of the brightness and intensity of the light. Trevor watched in awe as he saw two figures fell from the ball of light and landed on top of him.

"Now that," said a strange looking bobcat that seems to have an affinity of wearing turtleneck sweaters. "…was some ride, ain't it, Miranda?"

"That's one ride I hope I never get on again…," said a blonde woman as she was dusting herself off. She then look down and realize that they were on top of someone. "We're sorry! Let me help you up." She then helped Trevor get on his feet and dusted him off.

"Just wh-," Trevor began.

"Behind you!!" Yuko shouted urgently. The bobcat and the two humans turned around and a really pale looking man with spiky jet black. He wore yellow sunglasses and an odd green suit. What terrified Trevor was the fact that this man had the same symbol on his head that the doppelganger from his dream had. "Quick! Trevor, do you wish to have the means and the equipment to fight this monster?!!"

"Mmm…?"

"I will take that as a yes! Here take this" Yuko threw something at Trevor and he caught it.

"What's this, a keychain? How is this going to help me?!" suddenly the keychain started to glow and was replace with a keyblade. It was similar to the Sora's Kingdom Key expect for the fact that it's brass in color and its guard had a sophisticated, if not Victorian, design to it. Trevor had a sudden feeling that the name of his keyblade was called _Nostalgic Memory_.

"You're the new Keyblade Master?" Bonkers said in awe. "Me and Miranda was sent to look for you!"

The strange pale man did seem amused by the certain turn of events. "In life, they called me…," he said flatly as he lifted his gun. "The Humanoid Typhoon," and with that he shot at Trevor.

Trevor, to his surprise, dodged the bullet. "I dodge a bullet!" he said surprised. "I dodge a freakin' bullet!!!" Miranda and Bonkers already pulled out their guns and started firing on this "Humanoid Typhoon." Miraculously, the man disappeared before their bullets could hit him.

"Where did he go?" Miranda asked looking around. Then she looked up, "He above us!!" The Humanoid Typhoon now had two guns and began firing round after round at his prey. Every time a bullet hit the ground it exploded transforming the landscape from a college campus to a battlefield. Bonkers and Miranda took cover and returned fire while Trevor was trying to get out of the line of fire. The Typhoon finally landed and pointed his left gun at Trevor. Trevor knocked the gun from the man's hand with his keyblade, so the man pointed the gun in his right hand at Trevor. Before the man got a chance to fire, Miranda shot at him and made three direct hits. As the man clenched in pain, he made the fatal mistake of turning attention away from Trevor and toward Miranda. Trevor took this opportunity to unleash an onslaught of combos. Every single attack was a direct hit had sent the man flying across the battlefield. Before he could react, Bonkers delivered the final blow with his gun.

"Freeze mister! You're under arrest for assaulting two police officers," Miranda yelled pointing her gun at the strange man. "Bonkers, get the handcuffs."

"Uh… Miranda, this is not our jurisdiction," Bonkers said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Miranda blushed for being overzealous and put her gun away.

As the man lay panting on his back, Trevor came over and pressed his keyblade on the stranger's neck. "Who are you and what do you want?" he demanded.

The man just painfully laughed and said, "Your eyes… They remind me of Wolfwood's." With that he vanished with a puff of black smoke.

"Who knew that when we came to this world we would hit the ground running," Miranda said exhausted.

"Not only that, we found the Keyblade Master and fought our first battle along side of him," Bonkers said who was also exhausted.

"That guy," said Trevor. "The way he moved. That speed…it was like he wasn't human."

"He wasn't." All three of them turned around only to see Yuko and her hired help, Watanuki. "He was at one point of time, but what you fought was a corrupt version of his soul; a Bleak in other words."

"What?" said Trevor clearly confused.

"When a person heart falls into darkness it becomes a Heartless. When their body falls it becomes a Nobody. However, when a person's soul fails to go to the afterlife it becomes corrupted by the darkness, thus turning it into a soulless being known as a Bleak. Unlike the Heartless and some Nobodies, all Bleaks retain the exact image of the person it once was, with a few minor changes."

"The pale skin, jet black hair, and green clothes," deduced Trevor.

"That is correct. They also have another telltale sign; the symbol of the Bleak on their forehead, the heart attached with the infinite symbol."

"Wow, the King never told us about those in his letter," Bonkers interrupted. "Only the Heartless, Nobodies, and where to find you. Trevor is it?"

"Somebody told you to find me?!" Trevor said in surprise. "But why? And how did they know where to find me?!"

"Because you are one of the Keyblade Masters," said Miranda who only half understood the whole affair herself. "One of the legendary warriors destined to save the universe from the forces of darkness."

"And what of a coincidence! I mean, to find the Keyblade Master we were looking for right when we first entered this world," added Bonkers.

"There is no such thing as coincidence in this world or in any other, only Hitsuzen," said Yuko.

"Hitsuzen?" questioned Miranda.

"Hitsuzen. A naturally foreordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible. A result which can only be obtained by a single causality and other causalities would necessarily create different results. So reads the Kodansha Japanese Desk Dictionary, second edition. You meeting here together was Hitsuzen and the paths that you all will choose are Hitsuzen."

Everybody just stared at her blankly like they didn't know what she was talking about, and the truth of the matter was that they really didn't. "Don't worry. She fed me the same crap when I first met her," Watanuki said empathically. Yuko decided it was fitting to slap him up side the head for his insolence.

"Wait a minute, are you saying that everything is written in stone?" asked Trevor.

"If you believe that your destiny is decided, then most likely, it's decided. But you believe that nothing is decided, then mostly likely, nothing is decided," the witch said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah…whatever. And this," Trevor held up his keyblade. "How on earth you gave me this?"

"Your wish was to have the ability to destroy the creatures of the darkness effectively, so I granted your wish for a price. The price was the separate your heart from _her_ heart."

"My heart?" said a confused Miranda.

"No. Trevor here has two hearts within him; his own and somebody else's. Because these two hearts were combined, he wasn't able to wield the keyblade, but now that they are separated he can freely access the power he was destined to wield."

"So, whose heart is within me?"

"Even I don't know, but I can tell you this, she never existed."

Before Trevor could ask the witch how that was possible, Bonkers interrupted again, "Oh yeah, I just realized something! We have no means of traveling between worlds!!!"

"I can help you with that," Yuko said. "Normally this wish can't be granted, but if all three of you make a payment I can give you what you need."

"But why would I go to other worlds?" asked Trevor asked. "There's nothing out there for me."

"What about your friend?" Trevor almost forgotten about Vince, he was too wrapped up fighting the Bleak or whatever it's called. "He is still out there. Among the worlds. Are you going to leave him to die in a strange place?"

"No. I will find him. He is like a brother to me."

"Good. Bonkers and Miranda is it? You two will be the first to offer payment. Your price are the guns that you carry; the very symbol that both of you are policemen."

"But what we will use to defend ourselves?" Miranda protested.

"Are your guns more important than your assignment?"

"No, they aren't," Miranda said with a heavy sigh. Magically her and Bonkers's gun floated in the air and landed on the witch's hand, she then gave the guns to Watanuki.

"For now on, as long as you are on this assignment, you can not use guns of any kind. Instead, you will use these…" Yuko then pulled out a tall staff that has a floating crystal on top of it and gave it to Bonkers. "That staff once belong to a powerful wizard from the Country of Seresu." She then pulled out a Japanese sword that has a dragon's head on its hilt and gave it to Miranda. "This sword's name is Ginryû, once wielded by the greatest ninja of all of Japan. You are now its master." Yuko then turned toward Trevor. "Your price Trevor is that when you find your friend, you can never set foot on the world you were born in."

"Isn't that a little harsh," Bonkers said shocked.

"A fair price is nothing to trifle with. That is the price that you must pay Mr. Trevor Birch, do you except?"

"Let's do it," said Trevor softly.

Miranda was shocked, "But if you do that you can never come back."

"This world," started Trevor. "…is my home…, but I refuse to let my friend die out there."

"I like your attitude," Yuko said with a smile. "Then may I present you with this." She snapped her fingers and a white spaceship with blue trimming appeared over the horizon. The ship was big enough the block out the sun entirely. It reminded Trevor of new tennis shoes, maybe a sneaker.

"It's…it's so huge!" Miranda said in awe.

"It's enormous!!" Bonkers shouted.

"It is the Spaceship Heart of Gold," Yuko stated. "I received it as payment from one of my past clients. It has been remodeled with gummi block technology to take its passengers from world to world instead of alien planet to alien planet."

"I can't wait to fly this thing!" Trevor said enthusiastically.

"Do whatever you want with the ship; just don't push the improbability drive button."

"Why?" questioned Miranda.

Yuko once again put on her stern face. "Bad things happen to people who use it."

Once Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda said their goodbyes to Yuko and the ever nervous Watanuki, they got on the Heart of Gold and blasted off into the skies. "I wish you all luck on your journey," Yuko said as the starship turned gummi ship left.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, a figure in a blue cloak, that very same figure that was watching Trevor this morning, smiled at the turn of events. "So, little Trevor was keyblader all of this time? This changes the plan, but not by much." With that he disappeared into the darkness.

**Next Chapter: The Boy in the Iceberg**

**Miranda's Log updated!**

**New Characters:**

Trevor Birch (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Bonkers D. Bobcat: Bonkers(1993)

Miranda Wright: Bonkers(1993)

Vince: Kingdom Hearts III?

Sgt. Francis Q. Grating: Bonkers(1993)

ProfessorLudwig von Drake: An Adventure in Color(1961)

Yuko Ichihara: Both _Tsubasa _and _XXXHolic_(manga 2003)

Kimihiro Watanuki: Both _Tsubasa _and _XXXHolic_(manga 2003)

Vash the Stampede?(The Humanoid Typhoon): Trigun(manga 2000)

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**Author's Notes:** Did anyone get the 42 reference? If not go read _The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. The book is far better than the movie. Now I know some of you are wondering why I used Miranda Wright instead of Lucky Piquel. Well, the reason is simple; I just think that Miranda is more suited for Kingdom Heart than Lucky is. It's not like I don't like the episodes with Lucky in them, just that I believe that Miranda is much more likely to appear in a Kingdom Hearts game. Please review and NO FLAMES!


	3. The Boy in the Iceberg

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 2: The Boy in the Iceberg**

"So let me get this straight, this," Trevor held up his keyblade, "is a keyblade. The so-called most powerful weapon in the universe."

"That's correct," Miranda said as she was trying to fly the gummi ship. Her and Bonkers for the last half-hour tried to explain the situation to the new keyblader.

"And this…King Mickey person asked you guys to find me," Trevor said thoughtfully as he tried to get a grasp on the whole situation.

"Yeah. You see, King Mickey is a Keyblade Master too, ya see. And he has the ability to sense when a person is just about to become a keyblader," Bonkers said with his usual enthusiasm.

"According to the King's letter," Miranda turned on the autopilot and faced Trevor. "The return of the Heartless got the King so worried that not only he sent us to find you, but also everybody he could think of to find people with the capability to become keybladers."

"Why? I thought you said that the Heartless attack the universe twice already. Can't the King and this Sora guy handle it on their own like the last two times?"

"Well, he said that the Heartless this time are acting weird."

"How weird?"

Bonkers, feeling left out, decided to answer the question himself. "Well, usually these Heartless guys go out and make a meal out of a world's heart, causing it to fall in darkness. However, this time, the Heartless are now either stealing one or two hearts before leaving a world or just occupying a world without attacking anyone."

"The letter states that the Heartless are normally instinctual," Miranda chimed in. "The King concluded that this strange behavior is because someone or something is controlling them all. Not only that, but the Heartless are spreading around the worlds like wildfire, so the King needs all the keybladers he can get to fight along side him."

"I think I'm beginning to understand," Trevor looked at his keyblade. "So my next question is what do we do now?"

"The King said that if we should find you we should go to every world we come across and locked that world's keyhole. That way, the Heartless will vanish from that world." Bonkers then turned his attention to a large red button that said _Improbability Drive; Do NOT press_. "Hey, I wonder what this button does?" He reached out his hand to press it.

"Bonkers, DON'T!" Miranda rushed over and grabbed Bonkers' hand before he got a chance to press the button. "Ms. Yuko told us not to press that button or bad things will happen, remember?"

"Geez Miranda, I remember, but I was just wonderin' what it does."

"Well, right now all we need to wonder about is to figure out how this ship works." Miranda sat back down on the driver's seat. "I figured out how to take off and how to set it on autopilot, but that's about it."

Trevor began to look over the controls of the ship; it reminded him so much of the sci-fi movies he used to watch; that's when he came up with an idea. "I wonder if the ship's computer can receive voice commands?"

"Well, it's worth a shot," Miranda shrugged. "Ship's computer activate!"

The console burst into life setting off a series of clicks and whistles. "Hiya guys!"

said the gummi ship's computer in a voice that sounded like a stereotypical used car salesman from the 1950's. "I'll tell you it's really swell having people like you on in this bridge after so many years of storage."

"Hmm okay…," neither Miranda nor the others were expecting the ship's computer to have a personality chip. "Computer…"

"Please, call me Eddie if that will make you feel better," the computer said warmly.

"Okay Eddie…, could you tell us how to fly this ship?"

"If you really wanted me to, but just to let you know I was programmed to handle all of the ship guidance systems so the three all you could relax. So where to you want to go gang? I heard there is a pretty nifty restaurant on World X-97564Z a.k.a. Radiant Garden."

"N-no…that's okay," Miranda said quite confused.

"Hey, we really hit the jackpot with this ship!" Bonkers exclaimed. "Now we can finally ride in style without lifting a finger." He began to recline in his chair with a smug look on his face and put on some sunglasses.

Another idea ran across Trevor's mind. "Hey com- I mean Eddie. Are you programmed to find people among the worlds?"

Eddie seemed to think about this for a moment. "Well, I am programmed to know almost every single world in existence, and what they are famous for, if that information is available, but I afraid I'm incapable to locate a person for you. Will you settle for a nice hot latte instead?"

A hot cup of latte suddenly pop out of the table in the middle of the bridge. "No thank you," Trevor said nonchalantly. He realize if he was going to locate Vince, he would have to do it the old fashion way.

"What you could do Eddie," Miranda spoke. "Is take us to the nearest world."

"Okay gang! That world would be _The Land of the Four Nations_, known for its beautiful landscapes and dumplings!" With that, the Heart of Gold sped toward a blue-green dot in the innerspace sky.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers found themselves in a frozen wasteland as far as the eye could see. All three of them hugged themselves to keep warm. "There's not a sign of life for miles," Trevor complain.

"Well, we just have to keep looking," Miranda suggested. On that note, they all set off to look for the inhabitants of this world. It was not long before they came to a huge ocean filled with floating ice and icebergs. "Wow," was the only thing Miranda could say.

"This place is hugenormous!" Bonkers said as he leaped in the air will joy. "Was there anything like this on your world Trevor?"

"Well," Trevor began never taking his eyes off the chilled ocean. "We do have an ocean, but our climate is warm all the time, so ice never formed."

_It wasn't always like that._ Trevor turned around abruptly and saw probably the most beautiful young woman in his life. She had long, flowing blonde hair that completely covered her eyes. Her bright and welcoming smile somehow filled his heart with joy. He felt like he knew her from somewhere, but he can't put his finger on it. What he didn't notice is that her clothes, much like his, weren't suited for the cold climate; a white tank top with a powder blue skirt. Another fact that he seem not to notice is the fact that she was transparent. The phantom girl then turned around and walked away.

"Hey wait!" Trevor called out and ran after her.

Bonkers and Miranda then followed suit. "Hey Trevor," Bonkers said as he huff, "why are we running?"

"To follow that woman," Trevor said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What woman?" Bonkers looked around and saw no woman other than Miranda.

"The blonde woman with long hair. She was here a minute ago."

All three of them came to a clearing near the water's edge. There were no signs of life, no people, and no blonde women; except for Miranda. "Maybe we should turn back," she said obviously sick of the cold.

"No, I have a funny feeling about this place," Trevor said as he looked around.

"Hey what's that?" Bonkers pointed toward a canoe with a boy and a girl in it.

"People, that's what it is!" Trevor said joyously. "Hey!" he called out to the canoe. "Over here!"

Both the boy and the girl in the canoe wore blue and white fur coats, had dark skin and black hair. The girl who had blue eyes and two braids looked over to the shoreline at the three strangers. "Hey Sokka, I think those people need our help."

"No way Katara," the boy spat. "They might be Fire Nation."

"They don't look like they are from the Fire Nation." Sokka looked over the strangers again, he could tell they are not from anywhere around here, due to the lack of layers in their clothing. But then again they can't be from the fire nation, because none of them wore any red.

"Alright," Sokka said defeated. "But won't let my guard down around them!" He put up to the shore, but not close enough so the three strangers could jump into their canoe. Before anyone could speak, Sokka spoke first pointing a spear toward Trevor. "What nation are you from?"

Trevor at first was dumbfounded, but then he remembered the King's letter and what it said about interacting with other worlds. And the number one rule is to never, and I mean never, let anyone find out that you are from another world. So he would have to think of an answer and fast. "Well…, we are from far away, to be specific, a much warmer place."

"Oh really?" Sokka said as if he didn't believe his story. But all of a sudden, he lowered his spear. "That's good enough for me, hop in."

Katara just rolled her eyes. "Not gonna let your guard down, huh?"

Thirty minutes after Trevor and his newfound friends boarded the canoe, they learned everything they needed to know about this world. They learned about the four nations and how each nation mastered one of the four elements: water, earth, fire, and air. They also learned about a being known as the Avatar, who is the only one who could master all of the four elements; but he vanished a hundred years ago. Since then, the Fire Nation made their move to conquer the whole world.

"That's terrible…," Miranda said when Katara finished explaining.

"Yeah, and our father's off fighting the Fire Nation so all we have now is our gram-gram."

"What I don't understand," Sokka interrupted, "is how you guys don't know all of this."

"Well, we are from a very secluded island," Trevor lied, and then an idea struck him. "And the reason why we are off it is, because we are looking for a friend. His name is Vince, has black hair, about tall as me, really bad taste in clothes. Have you seen him?"

Katara shook her head. "All of you are the only new people we seen around here." Just then, they all notice that the canoe was moving faster than normal and gaining speed. Sokka turned around and realized that they were caught in a strong current. He and Trevor tired to steer the boat, but it was no use. "Go left, go left," Katara warned them, but it was too late; they crashed their canoe and they all landed roughly on a floating slab of ice. "You called that left?" Katara said angrily at Sokka.

"So you don't like my steering?" he spat back. "Maybe you should have water-bended us passed the ice. Leave it to a girl to mess things up."

"You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brain… Ooo, I'm embarrassed that we are even related."

"Uh, Katara," Trevor said very concerned, especially that Katara was subconsciously using water-bending causing a huge iceberg behind her to crack.

She, however, continue to yell at Sokka. "Ever since mom died, I been stuck doing all the work around camp while you are off playing soldier!" When she said that a huge crack formed.

"Uh, Katara," Sokka sheepishly said.

"I even wash your clothes!" Two more huge cracks appeared.

"Katara, could you settle down please," Miranda pleaded.

"No! I'm done helping him! From now on, he's own his own!!!" As soon as she said that the iceberg spit in half and created a huge wave that nearly knocked all of them off the ice slab. Suddenly another huge iceberg rose from the depths, but this one had a blue glow to it. All five of them looked in awe at the strange sight. As they look deep inside its frozen depths, they saw a boy trapped within it and to everyone's surprise the trapped boy opened his eyes.

"He's…he's alive?" Trevor said. He couldn't believe that anyone one could survive in an iceberg.

"Come on we have to help!" Katara grabbed her brother's spear, Trevor summoned his keyblade, and Miranda pulled out her sword to help the strange boy out of his icy prison. When they finally made a crack, the icy shell exploded and a huge beam of light raced toward the sky.

**KH-KH-KH**

Miles away on a battleship made entirely out of steel, a boy around the age of fourteen, wearing red and has a burn mark on the entire upper left side of his face saw the beam of light. Needless to say, he was delighted, but he didn't want to get his hope up like so many times before. "Finally. Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

An elderly man sitting at a small squared table covered with playing cards looked up at the boy nonchalantly. "Does it mean that I won't finish the game?"

"No uncle, it means that my search is about to come to an end. That light came from an extremely powerful source. It _must_ be him!!"

"Or," the old man sighed, "it is the celestial lights. We've been down this road Prince Zouko. Why don't you relax and have a sip of some claming jasmine tea?"

"I don't need any tea!!!!!!!!" Prince Zouko shouted like a child throwing a tantrum. "What I need is the Avatar!! Tell the Heartless to set a course toward the light!!!"

**KH-KH-KH**

The chilled Antarctic wind circled the five figures below. They looked helplessly at the scene before them. Then out the smoke, a young boy with glowing eyes and tattoos step forth. Trevor grasp his keyblade firmly in his hand just in case this boy decides to attack them, but the everyone's surprise, the boy fainted. Miranda and Katara caught the strange boy before he hit the ground. The boy slowly opened his eyes and looked at Katara. "I need to ask you something," the boy whispered. "Come closer." Katara leaned in. "Closer…" She leaned in some more. "Will you go penguin-sledding with me!" all signs of the boy's fatigue disappeared.

"Uh…, sure…, I guess…," Katara said taken back and thoroughly surprised.

The fact was that everyone was surprised about the boy's fast recovery. Bonkers gave a gleeful cry and Miranda let out a sigh of relief. Trevor, however, wanted some answers. "How did you get trapped in the ice and why you're not frozen?"

The boy just shrugged. "I don't know; I'm not sure about it myself." Just then a low grunting sound came from the center of the iceberg. "Appa!" the boy cried joyously and ran toward the source of the noise.

"What's an 'Appa?'?" Bonkers asked as the original five followed the boy. When they came to the center of the floating patch of ice they saw the boy hugging a giant six-legged, white bison. "Oh," Bonkers said a little frighten. "That's an 'Appa.'"

"What is that?!" Sokka pointed to the very large beast.

"Oh that's Appa, my flying bison," the boy said matter-of-factly.

"Oh well then, this is Katara, my flying sister. And they are Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda, our flying foreigners. And finally, I'm Sokka king of all flying people!" he said sarcastically.

"Really, well I'm Aang. I'm an Airbender from the southern air temple."

Katara gasped, she could not believe what she was hearing. "You're an Airbender?!"

"Sure am," Aang simply put it.

"Great, strangers with huge keys, giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders… I'm going home where stuff actually makes sense." Sokka turned around to get into the canoe, but then realized that it was destroyed awhile back.

"Well, if you need a lift, me and Appa can give you one." All six of them climbed up on Appa, Aang sat on Appa's head while the others sat on the saddle. "Appa, _yip yip_," Aang cried and the bison gently rose above the ground and flew around the azure sky.

**KH-KH-KH**

Prince Zouko looked out into the ocean with a face filled with determination; there was no way the Avatar was going to slip through his fingers, not when he was given the power of darkness. His uncle, however, was concern about his nephew's health. "You should get some sleep Prince Zouko."

"I don't need sleep," Zouko spat without turning around to face his uncle.

His uncle just sighed and couldn't believe how stubborn his nephew was. "Prince Zouko, even if you are right and the Avatar's return, you will never catch him. Your father, grandfather, and even your great-grandfather failed to capture him."

"They failed because their honor wasn't at stake. And furthermore they never received this power." Zouko stretch out his hand to form several dark portals, they morph and formed into Air Pirate and Pirate Heartless. The prince smile at the creation of his new servants, but his uncle eyed them cautiously. "The coward's one hundred years of hiding are over." He then pointed to all of the Air Pirate Heartless, "Search the perimeter; look for any sights of the Avatar!" The Heartless obeyed his command and set off ahead of the ship.

"I don't trust these creatures, Prince Zouko," his uncle said simply. "Nor do I trust the man who gave you these powers. He had the aura and look of a demon."

"I do not _care_ who you do or do not trust. The fact of the matter is that I trust him. I need more than fire-bending to capture the Avatar, a lot more."

**KH-KH-KH**

"So Aang, I was wondering…," Katara began, "If you're an Airbender then you must know what happen to the Avatar."

"Who, me?" Aang all of a sudden had a nervous look on his face. "I don't know him. I mean I know people who know him, but I never met him."

"Oh okay."

Katara seemed to be satisfied with that answer, but Trevor wasn't all to convince. "I think Aang is hiding something," he whispered to Bonkers.

"Even if he is hiding something we can do nothing about it, we have to protect the world order." He then made a salute like he was facing a superior officer.

"What are you doing?" Katara asked the strange, talking bobcat.

"Oh, nothing." Bonkers said embarrassed.

An hour later they reached the southern water tribe village, its entire population came outside to meet the four strangers and the flying bison. There were around thirty people in the village, entirely made up of women and very young children. Trevor thought this was odd at first, but then he remembered what Sokka and Katara told him earlier in the canoe, that all of the men of the village are off fighting the Fire Nation. "Aang, Trevor, Bonkers, Miranda, the entire village. The entire village, Aang, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda," Katara introduced, but instead of a warm welcome they received blank stares, mostly directed at Aang.

"What's a matter?" Aang asked in confusion. "Did Appa sneezed on me?"

An old woman step forth. Miranda noted that the woman looked a lot like Katara. "You'll have to forgive them," the old woman said, but she had a harsh look on her face. "They all thought that the airbenders are all extinct. That is, until my grandchildren found you."

"Extinct?" Aang said in confusion.

"Yeah, but now I have someone to teach me some more about water-bending," Katara said excitedly.

"You're a water-bender? Cool."

Before Aang could say anything else, Katara's grandmother pulled her granddaughter aside to speak to her. "Don't put a lot of faith in these strangers Katara."

"But gram-gram," Katara rebutted. "These strangers have great power and wisdom, I sense it." Katara pointed to Trevor, Aang and the others to strengthen her argument and found that Aang and Bonkers had their tongues stuck on Aang's portable glider, and the both Trevor and Miranda were shivering in the cold, because they had short selve shirts on.

"Oh yeah, great power and wisdom," gram-gram said sarcastically. "Come Katara you have chores to do."

Hours later Trevor became tired of the frozen wasteland that was the South Pole. The locals were kind enough to give him and Miranda fur coats to keep warm and he was thankful, but he felt like he was wasting time here. "Miranda, where Bonkers? I want to get off this world as soon as possible so we can find Vince."

"I saw him leaving the village, going in that direction," she pointed to a battleship frozen in the ice.

It was only when Trevor and Miranda reached the frozen battleship did they realized how huge it was. It was like a colossus trap in the primordial ice. "That Fire Nation battleship serves a bad memory for the people of my tribe," Trevor and Miranda turned around and saw Katara and Aang; they didn't realized that they were being followed. "Its presence constantly reminds us that the war is still going on."

"Wait a minute, what war?" Aang said thoroughly confused. "I have friends all over the world, including in the fire nation, and I have never seen any war."

Katara thought about this for a moment. "Aang…how long were you in that iceberg?"

"I don't know," he said nonchalantly. "One week I guess."

"I think it's more like one hundred years," Katara gasped.

"That's crazy! Do I look like a one hundred and twelve year old man to you?"

"No, but the war started one hundred years ago. It makes sense that you don't know about it, because you were trapped in that iceberg for over one hundred years."

"One hundred years…" Aang sat unceremoniously on the snow, quite taken back. "I've been gone for that long…"

"Hey, it could be worse," Katara tried to comfort the Airbender.

Suddenly, they heard a scream coming from within the ancient battleship. "That sounded like Bonkers," Miranda gasped.

"Come on," Trevor summoned his keyblade. "We have to see if Bonkers is in danger."

**KH-KH-KH**

Deep within the heavy rusted Fire Nation battleship, our favorite cartoon bobcat wandered aimlessly in search for clues. _The keyhole to this world must be around here somewhere_, Bonkers thought. He caught a glimpse of a strange heart symbol that has been crossed out on the wall, when he tried to get a better look at the symbol the room started shaking and ten Neoshadows appeared and surround him. He gave a startled scream and tried to reach for his gun, only to turn up empty. _That's right, I don't have my gun anymore_, he thought. He quickly pulled out the staff Yuko had given him and started swinging it wildly over the Heartless' heads. "How do you turn this on," Bonkers wondered out loud. "Magic ON!!!!" nothing happen. By now the Heartless cornered the poor bobcat. "Looks like this is the end," he cowered behind his staff shaking uncontrollability. Before the closest Neoshadow was able to attack him, a small stream of water lassoed around it and crushed it to death. Suddenly a gale of wind separated the Heartless in two groups while a keyblade ricocheted off the walls destroying the Neoshadows before returning back to its owner. "Miranda, Trevor, Katara, Aang!" the bobcat cried in jubilation.

"What are these things?" Aang questioned Katara.

"Heartless. The Fire Nation had been using them a lot lately," Katara said as she destroyed another Neoshadow.

Trevor was holding his own against the Heartless; with two sweeps of his keyblade he destroyed three more Heartless. Aang, on the other hand, summon a giant whirlwind that wiped out the remaining Heartless. "Alright!" Trevor high-fived Aang. "Did you see how we beat those Heartless?"

Katara, on the other hand, did not celebrate. "If the Heartless are appearing here that means a Fire Nation fleet is not too far away… Oh my god, the village! We can't defend ourselves without our soldiers!"

"Well consider us your soldiers-for-hire," Trevor said as he rested his keyblade on his right shoulder. The five of them then ran out of the battleship to protect the South Pole village.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back at the village the people were terrorized by Heartless and Nobodies. Among the chaos was Prince Zouko. "Line them up," he ordered his minions. When the task was done he was ready to interrogate the whole tribe. "Where are you hiding him?" he questioned them. He question was only answered by silence which frustrated him greatly. He sent a wave of fire over the villagers' heads. "I know you're hiding him!!!"

"Looking for me?" Prince Zouko turned around and saw a bald ten year old, a girl from the village, a young man with a giant key for a weapon, a woman with strange clothes, and a crazy looking bobcat.

Zouko snapped his fingers and summon five Dusk, "Get rid of this nuisance for me." Before the Nobodies could react, Aang wiped them out with a fierce gale. "You're the Airbender?" Zouko was in shock, but he refuse to show this emotion. He was obviously expecting someone older. "You're the Avatar? I spent years preparing for this encounter: training, meditating, but you are just a child."

"Oh yeah," Aang retorted, "You're just a teenager!"

The banished prince did not have the time or the patience to play the dozens, so instead he sent a fire ball flying toward the Avatar. Aang was able to disrupt it using his air-bending skills. While Zouko was concentrating his focus on the Avatar, Trevor and Miranda circle around the fight to get a jump on Zouko. When Zouko's back was facing them, they unleashed a furious double attack. Before they can finish the combo, Zouko manage to counter both the keyblade and Miranda's sword and singe them both with a wall of fire that knock them five feet from the battlefield.

"Trevor!!!! Miranda!!!!" Bonkers yelled as he stared at their scorched bodies. "Come on magic staff, HEAL!!!" nothing happen. "Come on! HEAL!!! HEAL!!!! Cure them!!!" As soon as he said cure, a bright green light illuminated his staff and surrounded Trevor and Miranda.

"What happen and why do I feel better than before?" Miranda asked Trevor.

"I don't know but we have to help Aang!" Trevor said as he got up.

"Ohhhhhh!" Bonkers said as he looked at his staff impressed. "It heals people when I say _cure_!"

Meanwhile Aang was on the defensive, Zouko proved to be a powerful opponent. His knowledge about bending may not be on the same level as Aang, but his attacks were definitely more powerful. "This ends now Avatar!" Zouko said as he charged up for his attack. Aang took this opportunity to attack, but the prince was too quick. Zouko launched a giant fire ball at Aang that hurled him into the ocean.

"Aang, noooo!!!!!!" Katara yelled.

"You monster!!!" Trevor bellowed as he charged Zouko. Zouko merely dodged the charge, Trevor then swung his keyblade to Zouko's head, but the prince block it with his left hand.

"I see, you're one of those keybladers that demon talked about," Zouko stated.

"What are you ta-" before Trevor could finish his question a giant water sprout rose out the ocean and knocked Zouko's ship from the shore to the open sea.

"My ship!!!!" Zouko yelled as he ran toward the shore. Before he could make it there, Aang pop out of the water sprout, his eyes and tattoos glowing, and landed on the shoreline. Zouko saw that he was out numbered, he was forced to battle the Avatar, a keyblader, and wizard, a swordsman, and he even saw Katara entering the battle. "I waited too long for this day to run away now." His set his fist on fire, "_Pyromaniacs_ come and aid your master!!!" His slam his right fist in the ground and the whole shoreline was set ablaze. A new type of heartless popped up from the scorched earth. They had the heads of rabid dogs and the body of a weightlifter, their clothes had the heartless emblem and were made from crimson fire, and their fingers resemble match tips.

"What the hell are those?" Trevor shouted seriously thinking about running home.

"That's the type of heartless the fire nation used when they attacked our village the last time," Katara said forming a whip made out of water. "Use water and ice-based attacks," she warned as she destroyed one with two attacks of her water whip.

"Ice-based, got it!" Trevor said as focused his energy in the keyblade. "Blizzard," he said as he took out a heartless. Bonkers followed his example and took out four more heartless.

Aang and Miranda were busy fighting off Zouko, every time he would fire a fireball, Aang would disrupt it and Miranda would attempt to land a hit on Zouko. "You fools think you can defeat me?" the banish prince screamed as he blocked and countered Miranda's sword attack. "I'm on another level then you, I'm invincible, I'm unstoppable, I'm-"

"Filled with hot air!!" Zouko turned around and saw Trevor about to fire a spell. "Blizzard!!" He landed a direct hit and Aang amplified the effects of the spell by trapping the prince in a vortex. He then directed the vortex to fling Zouko out to sea toward his ship. Air-Pirate heartless fished Zouko out of the ocean and placed him back on the deck of his ship.

"This isn't over, Avatar!!! I will hunt you down and restore my honor!!!!" the prince yelled off the side of his now heavily water damaged ship.

Aang nearly fainted from exhaustion, but Katara caught and stabilized him. "Aang are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why didn't you tell us that you are the Avatar?"

"Well…, because I never wanted to be the Avatar…"

Sokka and gram-gram walked over to the group. "Whether you want to be the Avatar or not," gram-gram started, "You hold the fate of the world in your hands. You must end this war and bring harmony back to the four nations."

"You're right," Aang said. "I have a duty to fulfill and I put it off for far too long."

"Well, one hundred years is a long time to put something off," Trevor joked.

"I will come with you Aang," Katara declared.

"And I guess I'll come too," Sokka said nonchalantly. "It will give me an excuse for beating up fire nation soldiers."

"Together, we can defeat the Fire Nation and bring back peace to the world."

"That's fine with me!" Aang looked toward Trevor, Miranda and Bonkers. "Are you three coming with us? The more the merrier!"

"Sorry, but we have our duties to fulfill," Trevor said. "And we still have to find my friend."

"Oh, I see. Well good luck with that," Aang said as he shook hands with Trevor. Suddenly, Aang glider gave off a golden glow. "Hey, what is with your glider?" There was a bright flash and Trevor found himself floating in the clouds at sunset. "Hey, where am I and what's holding me up?" He turned around and saw Aang's glider, it then morphed into a giant keyhole. His keyblade reacted to this and forced his hand to point the weapon toward the keyhole. Without warning, a small beam of light shot out of the keyblade and into the keyhole, when it was over the keyhole dissolved back into Aang's glider. "Wow, what happen?" he asked in confusion.

"You locked the world."

Trevor turned around and saw the very same blonde woman he saw when he first landed on this world.

"Doesn't this sunset remind you of the ones back on our world?" the mysterious young woman asked.

"Who are you?" Trevor asked. "I feel like I should know you, but…," he knocked on his head three times trying to remember. "…I never saw you before."

The young woman cocked her head to the side and gave a hurt look on her face. "You don't remember? Even though I've been in your heart all this time?"

There was another flash and Trevor found himself back at the South Pole village.

"Wow, that was so cool!!!!" Aang exclaimed. "What did you do?!!"

"I think I locked the world," Trevor said as he was rubbing his temples.

"Well, if you locked this world then that means we can finally get out of the cold," Miranda stated.

The two groups said their good-byes and one headed toward the flying bison and the other toward the tundra to find their gummi ship.

**Next Chapter: Villains of a Sort**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New characters:**

Eddie: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy(novel 1979)

Mysterious Young Woman: ???

Aang: Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)

Katara: Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)

Sokka: Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)

Appa: Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)

Prince Zouko: Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)

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**Author's Notes: **I love the show Avatar; it's a perfect blend of action and comedy…kind of like Road Rovers. Stay tune for the next chapter and please review! Thank you very much!


	4. Villians of a Sort

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

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**Chapter 3: Villains of a Sort**

"Did you see that?!!!" said a coyote with a strange accent dressed like some sort of captain. There were a number of figures seated at the table he was at. They were in a very dark room and the only source of light was the table itself. The top of the table shown a very clear, holographic image of Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda. "Did you _see_ that?!!!" the coyote repeated gesturing his comrades to look at the image they were already looking at. "That…_boy_ just sealed a keyhole!" He then turned to a man at the head of the table. The man had long dark hair and wore traditional Japanese clothing. His eyes were emotionless as if he wasn't human at all, but this didn't stop the coyote. "You say only the Keyblade Masters can seal a world!! You say that the Prince Zouko can handle the Heartless!!! And now look!!!" He pointed again to the image. "He beaten Zouko like a red-headed stepchild and sealed the keyhole to the world!!"

"That would make him a keyblader," said a young man next to the coyote. The young man had brown hair, a white button-up shirt and brown slacks.

The coyote looked at the young man with fury and rage. If he had the ability to see auras, he would have seen a dark, wrathful red aura emitting from the young man. "I KNOW THAT!!!" the coyote pressed. "I saw the big key thing that he was waving around. I'm no idiot!" The young man just rolled his eyes.

"I know," the dark-haired man spoke, "That all of you are concerned…"

"You're darn right we're concerned!!!" exclaimed a flamboyantly dressed duck wearing nothing but red, black, and yellow. "Listen here demon-boy, you said there will be only four keybladers and now we have a fifth one." The duck got so mad he could barely see straight, so he just banged his head on the table causing the holographic image to blur for a second.

"I believe what the duck was trying to say," the young man said, "is that we do not wish to lose our hearts to the darkness trying to rid ourselves of stray keybladers."

"We all heard the stories, Naraku," said a very ancient looking woman, garbed in purple. Like the others, she was perturbed and not too pleased about this sudden turn of events. "First Maleficent and her allies got beaten by the keyblader and were swallowed up by the darkness, and then Organization XIII were beaten by four keybladers and was swallowed by darkness. The odds of us attaining our goal are less than when Maleficent tried to access Kingdom Hearts the first time."

"This is the same song and dance we all heard before," said a man with fiery red hair that stuck up like a wild anime character. He was also wearing a black skintight suit with a large 'S' on the front. "A group of nefarious villains all gather together so they can obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts, but somehow, someway, they all FAIL!!! And it's all because of those who wield the keyblade."

"The odd man is right!" exclaimed a muscular man wearing a purple uniform and a dragon's skull on his head. "I say we kill them all!!! And we could do it right now," he pointed to the young man with brown hair. "He has the power to kill anyone he wants. Let him kill the keybladers!"

"Don't be a fool!" the young man stood up. "We need the keybladers to obtain our goal!"

"Why do we need those losers?" the outlandish duck hissed. "They will only ruin our plans!"

"Must we go over this again?" the young man started to rub his temples. "The keybladers are the key to Kingdom Hearts."

"Well explain again, notebook boy."

The young man tried his best to not write the duck's name in his notebook. "When Maleficent tried to summon Kingdom Hearts, she needed the hearts of the seven princesses of heart. Finally, Organization XIII needed to collect countless amounts of hearts to create their own Kingdom Hearts, because they didn't have the means to open the real Kingdom Hearts again."

"Your point is?" the duck said boredly as he looked at his nonexistent fingernails.

"The point is that every time a keyblader seals Kingdom Hearts, new measures are placed in order to deter others from accessing it again. This time the only way to access Kingdom Hearts is for three keybladers to unlock the door itself."

"But that goes against the very nature of a keyblader," said the ancient woman.

"Precisely, so we need to fool the keybladers to _think_ they need the power of Kingdom Hearts. The only way to do that is to create so much chaos in the multi-verse that they think the only way to stop it is to use Kingdom Hearts' power."

"And when they unlock it, that when you come in Light Yagami," Naraku said flatly.

"Yes," said the young man smiling wickedly. "Immediately after the keybladers unlock Kingdom Hearts, I will kill them all using this." Light pulled out a black notebook, "I will use the _Death Note_."

"Ooo, a notebook, I'm so scared," the masked duck spat sarcastically.

"Light and his Death Note have been more of use to us than you have Negaduck," Naraku said.

"Bite me demon-boy!" Negaduck hissed.

"But do we do about this _NEW_ keyblader?" the masked man in the black skintight suit. "Sure he's a little wet behind the ears, but he'll get better and thus become a threat."

"Calm down Syndrome," Light soothed. "All I need to do is to find that keyblader, gain his trust, learn his true name and then we don't have to worry about him anymore."

"That will take too looong!!!" the coyote whined. "I have a plan that will get rid off the unwanted keyblader in no time at all. The plan is foolproof, of course, and could only be thought up by a genius like myself!"

"You, a genius?!" Light retorted. "You are constantly outwitted by a bear who didn't even graduate elementary school, how are you going to outwit a keyblader?"

The others at the table started to laugh at the coyote, who began to clench his fists as his cheeks started to burn. "So you think you can make fun of me, heh? All of you think I'm such a big joke, heh? Well, when I come back the joke will be on you! My plan will succeed!!!!" The coyote captain then stormed out of the room, but not before tripping over himself.

"What a douchebag," Negaduck said before Naraku's inter-circle rapped up their meeting.

**Next Chapter: Here There Be Pirates **

**New Characters:**

Naraku: InuYasha(manga 1997)

Light Yagami: Death Note(manga 2003)

Negaduck: Darkwing Duck(1991)

Syndrome: The Incredibles(2005)

The others members of Naraku's inter-circle: ???

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**Author's Notes: **Well there you have it, some of the villains behind the breakout of the Heartless, Nobodies, and Bleak. Sorry that this chapter wasn't longer like the others, the next chapter will probably be three or four times as long.


	5. Here There Be Pirates

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

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**Chapter 4: Here There Be Pirates**

Back on the Starship (or should we say Gummi ship) Heart of Gold, our three heroes have exit the gym that was on the ship. For the past two hours, the three of them were homing their combat skills. Lucky for them, Eddie had dozens upon dozens of e-books about magic and swords techniques on his hard drive. Bonkers learned the spells Fira, Cura, Blizzard, Thunder, Gravity, Stop, and Aero. Miranda, on the other hand, learned the techniques Blitz and Sonic Blade. Trevor, being a keyblader, learned Cura, Blizzard, Thunder, Fira, Blitz, and Sonic Blade.

"Eddie," Trevor said as he flopped down on the chair on the bridge. "How long before we reach the next world?"

The ship controls began to buzz to life again as the A.I. spoke. "In about two shakes of a lamb's tail. By the way guys, do you know we are being followed?"

"What?!" Miranda shouted. Even though she was stunned about being followed, she was more surprised by the fact that Eddie was so nonchalant about this. _What good is a ship's computer when it doesn't tell you that you are on the verge of being under attack_, Miranda thought. "Who's following us?"

All of the computer screens then shown an image of a large fleet of gummi ships, many of them had the Heartless' emblem on them; all had their weapons pointed to the Heart of Gold. Before the three could response, the computer make a beeping noise and a large image of a coyote with a smug look on his face appeared on screen.

"Heeelllooo," the coyote began. "You are being hailed by the greatest pirate to ever flown the skies, the one and only Don Carnaģe!!!! Scourge of the skies, controller of heartless, and the looter of countless worlds!!!" The coyote struck a dramatic pose as if he was performing in a Shakespearean play; a bad Shakespearean play with a bunch of two-bit actors that is.

At first no one said anything on the Heart of Gold; they were too shocked to response. The only thing that was filling the silence was the hums and the occasional clicks of Eddie and all the other machines and appliances made by the much hated Sirius Cybernetics Corporation. Finally after a good ten seconds, Trevor decided now would be the best time to voice what was on everybody's mind. "Well he's full of himself," Trevor said quietly to no one in particular.

Don Carnage happened to hear this and loss all patience with the keyblader. "You think you are a funny man, no?! Hey everybody, look at the wise guy who has all of the jokes!!! Well, the joke's on _you_! FIRE!!!!!!!"

After that came a series of barrages that shook and rattled the Heart of Gold violently. Bonkers and Miranda tried to activate the ship's weapon system only to find there was none. In a few seconds there was a huge flash, a terrible explosion, the feeling of freefall, a huge painful wet splash, and finally darkness.

**KH-KH-KH**

"Sooo… It would seem that your old man is out there saving the world again."

"Whatever…," said a fifteen year old dog-boy wearing a red hooded sweater and navy blue jeans.

"But Max, don't you miss him?" said an overweight cat-boy wearing a deep blue shirt with blue jacket and jeans who was also around the same age as Max.

"Why should I P.J.?" Max huffed as he laid down on the grass in the courtyard of Disney Castle. "He didn't say goodbye when he left the first time and he was nearly gone for two years. Why should I care if he leaves again?"

"Because he's your father Max," P.J. who couldn't believe what he's hearing. "He's the only one you got."

"Well maybe he should have been a better father," snorted Max

"Well, at least your father is not a villain," P.J. yelled. An awkward silence followed.

"I sorry P.J., it's just it seems that everyone seems to be able to get off this rock of a world expect us. The King, my dad, and Donald get to go off and see the universe. Huey, Dewie, and Louie get to set up shops all over the place. Heck, even Horace Horsecollar gets the leave this world now and again."

"That's because he's our ambassador," said a feminine voice.

"Lady Daisy!" Max jumped up and P.J. smartly saluted.

"At ease boys," Daisy said trying not to laugh her head off. "The queen wants to see you."

"The queen?" both boys said in unison as they followed the duck lady-in-waiting. She lead them to the throne room, which was ridiculously huge for no apparent reason, where the queen sat on her throne trying her best to put on a warm and comforting smile. Max respectively bowed before Queen Minnie and when P.J. tried to do the same he just fell flat on the floor. "Get up, you doofus," Max whispered harshly, as he helped his friend off the ground. He turned and smiled sheepishly to the queen, "I'm sorry your highness, but both of us-"

Queen Minnie raised her hand to silence Max and began to speak. "The King asked me to ask you if you could do a favor for him."

Max's ears perked up, "Sure, we would do anything for the king!" He then elbowed P.J. in his side, "Isn't that right P.J.?"

"Yeah, we would do anything for King Mickey," P.J. nodded in agreement, remembering the King had let him live in the castle despite his father's actions.

"That's good to hear," Queen Minnie smiled again, but couldn't hide her concern for the boys. After all, we are talking about two teenagers going on a dangerous mission. "The king wants both of you to find a certain keyblader in Traverse Town."

"You mean we get to leave this world?" Max said excitedly.

"Alright, sweet," concurred P.J.

"Please don't take your mission so lightly. You will face many dangers on your journey. It would be wise to prepare yourself."

Max just grinned that cocky smile of his, "Forgive me your highness, but you seem to forget that I am a squire." The young dog unsheathed the sword his was carrying on his back. It was a beautiful sword, so beautiful one would think that it was to be only used in ceremonies and other special occasions; not in battles. The actual blade shimmered like gold, decorated with magic runes from a lost and forgotten tongue. The hilt itself was a work of art, as it resembled twin eagle wings spiraling, twisting, and overlapping each other before spreading out completely. Of course, at the bottom of the hilt were the emblem of King Mickey and the name of sword, _Save the Kingdom_. Max had this sword commission by an expert blacksmith and had to pay a pretty penny for it too; nearly two years worth of allowances. Unlike his father, he wasn't a pacifist and therefore wasn't afraid to wield a sword. _Who would want to look like an idiot and fight with a shield when you can fight with one of these bad boys_, Max thought as he sheathed his sword.

"Also, Donald has been teaching me magic," P.J. chimed in and pulled out a staff with wings and a star on top of it. "Firga," he shouted proudly, only to produce a flame so small that even Jiminy Cricket wouldn't get burn by it. P.J. laughed sheepishly and stared down at his feet. "Well, I'm still working on it," he said finally.

"We won't fail you, your highness or the king. But I have one question, how do we get there?"

"I believe that's where I come in." Max and P.J. looked back to see a late middle-aged duck with spectacles and a light German accent. "Please allow me to introduce myself, my name in Professor Ludwig von Drake from the world _Downtown Beat_."

"Professor von Drake is a scientific genius and inventor from another world who, on occasion, has helped us out," the queen explained. "He's the one who brought gummi ship technology to our world."

"You flatter me with your kind words, your majesty," von Drake said with a slight bow. He then turned his attention to the boys, "Now for you boys, I built a very special gummi ship."

"You mean we actually get to have our very own gummi ship?" Max's eyes bulge out in pure bliss. He has his own gummi ship and he's barely old enough to drive a car. Life is truly sweet. He then grabbed the duck professor and proceeded to shake him wildly with excitement. "Where is it, doc? Where is it?"

"Calm down you silly teenage boy, you," von Drake said as he pulled himself free and dusted his jacket off. "It's down in the gummi hanger." In the next second there was nothing more than a cloud of dust where Max stood. "Well, someone is definitely an eager beaver," the professor retorted.

When Max got down to the hanger he couldn't believe his eyes. It was real, it was his, it was…underwhelming. It was little more than half the size of a regular gummi ship, about the size of a very large living room. The entire shape of the ship wasn't sleek as he thought it would be, but looked like a series of brown, burgundy, and green blocks put together to form a box shape ship. _You GOT to be kidding me_, he thought,_ this look like a hand-me-down gummi ship!!_ He turned around to see von Drake and P.J. entering the hanger. "Please don't tell me that our ship," he pointed at the pathetic, ugly-as-sin gummi ship.

"Yup, that's the one," von Drake swelled with pride over his craftsmanship, although no one could see why. "It's twice as fast as any gummi ship, better fuel economy, and two extra cup holders! I call it…_The Dragonfly_"

"Great, just what we needed; extra cup holders," Max said sarcastically.

Unfortunately, von Drake didn't pick that up, "You see?! I keep telling everyone that gummi ships needed extra cup holders!"

"I know, isn't that awesome?" P.J. said obviously failing to see how unstylish their gummi ship is. "I gotta blog about it!!"

"P.J., what are you doing?" Max asked still a little ticked off about the ship.

"Oh, you mean this?" P.J. held up his laptop computer. "Well, since we're going on a journey across the universe, I thought it will be a good idea for me to blog about it."

Max slapped his forehead; _Of all the stupid things… can't he see that our ship looks like some old lady's car from the 70's!!!_ He sighed and looked back at his crappy gummi ship inappropriately named _Dragonfly_. _Dung Beetle is more like it… Oh well, I guess beggars can't be choosers._ "Well, whatever, we better get to Traverse Town and fast; the King is counting on us."

"I wish you boys the best of luck on your journey," von Drake waved as they enter the ship.

When Max and P.J. got on the ship and took a look around they discovered that the cabin was the size of a one-room apartment and that the only other rooms were the engine room and a small bathroom. There was an area in one corner that was supposed to be the kitchen; although it only had a microwave, a small refrigerator, and two cabinets stuff with food. In another corner lay three futons, and the rest of the room was dedicated to the controls of the ship.

While Max groan, not least bit surprise about how small and cramp the ship is, P.J. awed in amazement. "This gummi ship is so efficient!"

"Yeah, whatever," Max grumbled as he climbed in the pilot seat while P.J. flopped into his. They prepped the ship for launch as the lights on the runway lit up. "I don't know why they have those," he complained as he buckled his safety belt. "We are only going to fall through a hole anyway."

But to their amazement a new light signal they never saw before appear on the screen resembling a red 'up' arrow. "Up?" they both questionably looked at each other. All of a sudden the ground beneath the gummi ship became a spring board and launched them out of hanger, into the atmosphere, where they enter interspace tumbling and spinning uncontrollably.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke to the smell of ammonia, rotting fish, and damp salt with the sounds of crashing waves. His head felt as if it was hit by a sledgehammer and his body a ton of bricks. He saw blurred entities moving around him, but couldn't make out any familiar shapes. He looked to his left and saw one blurred shape that has a yellowish top and a smaller orange blob. The keyblader could only guess it was Miranda and Bonkers. To his right he saw a row of shivering blobs.

"Trevor," someone whispered. "Are you alright?"

He turned to the yellow headed blob and blinked to focus his eyes and discovered that the blob was indeed Miranda. "Yeah, I think I bumped my head when we crashed," he searched the back of his head and located a huge bump and began to massage it. "Where the heck…are…?" It was only then he noticed that they on a ship, which wouldn't be so bad if its crew wasn't sea monsters. Each crew member represented a different sea creature, each one weirder than the last. "Miranda, where the _hell_ are we?"

"You're aboard the _Flying Dutchman_ my friend," the man next to him said. "They found you floating in the sea, so the crew brought you aboard."

"Well, that was awfully neighborly of them," Trevor sarcastically remarked. His real thoughts were focus on the coyote who shot them down, why did he do it, was he one of the people responsible for the heartless outbreak, and how are they going to get off of this world?

Bonkers' thoughts, unfortunately, were on other matters. "All of these fish people are making me hungry," Bonkers complained. "Does anyone feel like having sushi?"

"Bonkers, this is not the _time…_," Miranda hissed. She adores Bonkers and would normally find his antics funny, but there were times when he would choose to be funny at the wrong moment; this is one of those times.

"You keep very interesting company," the man said Trevor.

"Yeah…," Trevor wholeheartedly agreed, "but what am I going to do? These guys are my friends and they are willing to fight to the death for me."

"My name is Will Turner," the man offered his hand in friendship.

"Mine's Trevor, and these two are Miranda and Bonkers," he gestured to the woman and the bobcat. "Listen Will, are these fish people a threat to-"

Before he got a chance to finish his sentence the whole deck when quiet, the crewmen stopped their work, and no one dared to breath. The sound of an ominous thumping came within ear reach, it belong to the most hideous and terrifying creature on the ship. It had the tentacles of an octopus in place of a beard, one of his hands was replaced by a giant crab claw, and if it wasn't deformed enough, it had a peg leg. Trevor shuttered at the sight of the creature, it was clear that in some previous life this creature used to be a man, but now the former man was a twisted nightmare of the sea. It came before the row of frighten men. "Do you fear death," it began with all the gentleness of a tiger shark. "Do you fear that dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished." The last line made most of the men nod, no one was willing to see if there was a hell or not. "I can offer you an escape," Trevor looked at the creature quizzically. _Surely this…THING doesn't think he has the power over life and death_, he thought.

"Don't listen to him!" a man holding a rosary screamed.

The creature grabbed the man by the throat with his crab claw. "Do you not fear death?" the creature stared at the man sharply with its soul-piercing eyes.

The man only clutched his rosary tighter and gave the creature a confident, defiant look. "I'll take my chances, sir."

"To the depths," when the creature said that, one of the crewmen took a knife, slid the man's throat, and toss the body overboard.

Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda jumped up, horrify at the sight. "Why did you do that?" Trevor asked shocked and convince the sight of that poor man dying will stay with him forever. "You could of have let him go."

The creature sneered at him, "Life is cruel, why should the afterlife be any different?" It turned to the rest of the men, "I offer you a choice. Join my crew and postpone the judgment. One hundred years before the mast. Will ye serve?" One by one the men agreed that they will serve. When it got to Will and the others, it looked at the four of them curiously. "The four of you are neither dead nor dying."

"And that's the way it's going to stay!" Trevor summoned his keyblade and pointed at the black-hearted creature.

The mysterious, twisted phantom's eyes widen and took a step back. Will even seem surprised, but there was a glint in his eye as if he seen the keyblade before. "You're…you're a wielder of the key?" The creature took another step back.

"That's right, and I'm going to kick your butt!!" Trevor dashed to the creature, but it held out its claw causing Trevor to freeze mysteriously in his tracks. "W-what's going on?!" he began to freak out. Just as suddenly as the keyblade appeared, it disappeared. He tried to call it forth again but something was blocking his access to his keyblade.

"Don't worry, we'll back you up!" Bonkers shouted and tried to cast Thunder on his opponent only to discover nothing happened.

When Miranda grabbed her sword, she discovered she couldn't take it out of the sheath. "What's going on, my sword stuck?!"

The creature chuckle an evil, dark laugh and hit Trevor across the head with his claw knocking the keyblader to the floor of the deck. "You wielders think you're free to do anything you like. Like rabid dogs your kind run amuck across the universe sticking yer noses where they don't belong. Fooling yourselves thinking you wield the ultimate power in the universe." It picked up Trevor by the neck and pinned him to the mast. "Well I got news for yer boy, this is my ship. And the moment you set foot on my ship you and your friends have to obey by my rules. Furthermore, as captain, I will not tolerate a wielder on this ship!"

The creature bared Trevor's throat and gestured a crewman to cut his throat. Just before the knife touched his flesh, Will yelled out, "Wait! Jack Sparrow has sent me to settle his debt!" The captain turned his head and cringed when he heard the name 'Jack Sparrow.' Will remember Captain Jack Sparrow told him to say that and it might save his life, so he figured that there's a chance it might save Trevor's life too. "And if that is not enough he sent Trevor and his friends in order to ensure that compensation was met, Davy Jones."

Davy Jones released Trevor who fell unceremoniously on the floor, coughing. "Did he now?" the captain asked questionably. He looked over into the horizon and spotted the Black Pearl. "Well, let's ask him, shall we?"

_Meanwhile…,_

On the _Black Pearl_, Sora paced nervously like an expecting father. "I don't like this…," he kept saying over and over again. The chosen keyblader was still wearing the clothes from his last adventure: a black jacket with black shorts, a navy blue shirt underneath, black fingerless gloves, and his signature silver crown pendant. He turned to Jack Sparrow, who was looking through his spyglass at the _Flying Dutchman_. "We shouldn't have use Will as a scapegoat. There must be another way."

"Relax lad," Jack Sparrow slurred, "we'll rescue Will when the time is right."

"I don't like this either," Riku agreed with Sora. He was wearing a black zip-up shirt with a white and yellow jacket, navy pants, and white sneakers. "This seem cowardly, I say we storm the ship."

"Yeah," Kairi chimed in, who was still wearing her pink, hooded, zip-up dress. "I don't see why Will has to risk his neck while you run off footloose and fancy-free!"

"Look," Jack turned to the three keybladers. "We don't have a lot of options available. If we stormed the ship, what then?" He pointed to Riku, "You want the take on Davy Jones by yourself, be my guest. I suppose while you doing that, Sora will take out one hundred of his men while I take out the other hundred." He then pointed at Kairi, "And what will you do, young miss? Handle the Kraken for us? I think not! The plan stays as follows." Jack looked through his spyglass again only to see Davy Jones staring at him from his ship. _Crap,_ _he spotted us_, he thought. As he began the put down his spyglass he saw that he was staring at Davy Jones face to face. Sora, Riku, and Kairi drew their keyblades incase Davy Jones decides to attack them.

The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ didn't give Jack enough time to react, "You have a debt to pay. You've been captain of the _Black Pearl_ for thirteen years. That was our agreement."

Looking for a way out, Jack thought of a wonderful technicality, "Technically I was only captain for two years; then I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless. Have you not introduced yourself all these years as Captain Jack Sparrow?"

_Crap, how he knew about that_, Jack thought. "You have my payment. One soul to serve on your ship. He is already over there."

When Jack thought he was in the homestretch, Davy Jones throws another curveball at him. "And what of the wielder of the key and his friends? You sent them to me to pay your debt as well?"

"You mean Sora, Riku, and Kairi," Jack gestured to the Destiny Islands trio. "Why? Do you want them too?"

"Jack!!!!!" all three of them yelled can't believe that Jack will bargain with their lives like it was nothing.

"Not those key wielders, you fool, the one on my ship!!"

Jack saw a golden opportunity to take advantage of this happy mistake, "Of-of course I sent _that_ key wielder and his friends. Just in case you were not happy with my proposal. And if you were happy, you can consider the extra souls as a thank you gift for all the business we had during the years."

The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_ did not seem amused. "One soul is not equal to another and your soul is not equal to four."

"Aha!" Jack knew there might be a way out of this mess, "We've established my proposal is sound in principle. Now we're just haggling over price. Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

Jones paused to think about the offer on the table. A chance like this didn't come around everyday. "One hundred souls. Three days."

Jack was ecstatic; he received a reprieve! "You're a diamond, mate. Send me back the boy, the key wielder and his little friends. I'll get started right off."

Davy Jones wasn't about to oblige, "I keep the boy and the others. A good-faith payment. That leaves you only 96 more to go."

Ninety-six people was a lot of people, maybe there's a way Jack could lower the price. "Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four. Maybe three and a half. And did I happen to mention…he's in love? With a girl. Due to be married. Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Eh? As far as the keyblader, surely if he anything like young Sora or Riku then his soul must be worth ten?"

Sora hung his head in disbelief, how can anyone be this pathetic? Just watching Jack sink lower and lower was just painful. He couldn't believe he once look up to him. When he, Riku, and Kairi first got the letter from King Mickey to check out Port Royal and then report to Radiant Garden, he was ecstatic. He will get the chance to see Jack, Will, and Elizabeth again and go on more pirate adventures. But now he was reminded why he was suspicious of Jack Sparrow; the guy was a creep.

The sea monster captain wasn't falling for it. "I'll will keep the lot of them. You will give me ninety-six souls in three days." Then a look of amusement slightly spread on Davy Jones' face. "But I wonder, Sparrow, can you live with this?"

"Yep. I'm good with it," Jack said nonchalantly causing Sora's, Riku's, and Kairi's jaws to hit the floor in bewilderment. They have never thought that anyone, beside Nobodies, could be so… heartless. "Shall we seal it in blood?" He then look at Jones' tentacles on his face, "I mean…ink?"

"Three days," Jones said as he faded away.

Kairi leaned in toward Sora, "Sora, do you think the other keyblader is the King? Or perhaps someone the King has sent out for?"

"I don't know," he confessed. He remember the letter the king sent to them on the Destiny Islands stating that he will send several people to find new keybladers. "But whoever he is we'll rescue him and his friends; Will too. One way or another."

"So Sparrow," Riku spat with venom and disgust in his voice. "How do you intend to find ninety-six people that are willing to serve Davy Jones?"

"First of all, it's _Captain_ Sparrow, savy? Didn't your mom put any manners in that thick head of yours?" Riku just sneered at him. "Second, he was mum as to the condition in which these souls need be."

"That still doesn't answer our question," Kairi said. Her experience with Jack told her she would regret asking her next question. "Where are we going to find these people?"

Jack took a swig of rum and smiled at her, "Have you ever been to Tortuga, love?"

_Sometime later…,_

One word could describe Tortuga; hellhole. Sora knew that this world was very different from the other due its fondest of violence and questionable morals, but this place set a new low. It was the first time that Sora seen so many drunks, streetwalkers, and cutthroats in one place. He really wished Kairi didn't have to see this place, but it couldn't be help. What made this experience even worse is the fact that they were recruiting in a tavern and that Jack Sparrow was recruiting men like it was going out of style. It didn't matter if one was poor, rich, innocent, guilty, sick, handicapped, missing an eye or arm; the only requirement was the ability to breathe.

"So, what's your story," Riku asked the next man nonchalantly. He was already tired from dealing with the last two people.

The man had a dirtied powder wig, wearing clothes as if he was an officer in the queen's navy and was clearly dunk. "My story," he began to slur, "It's exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind. I chased a man across the seven seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life."

Jack looked over the man as he took the bottom of rum off the table and swallowed several gulps. "If I didn't know better mate, I say you're Commodore Norrington."

"No, not anymore," the former commodore retorted. "Weren't you listening?" He leaned in to make sure everyone could hear him, but Kairi and Sora started to shrank from his presence due to his foul stench. "I nearly had you all off Tripoli. I would have, if not for the hurricane."

"Are you crazy," Riku said shocked. Being an islander, he knew how dangerous a hurricane was. He heard plenty of horror stories from sailors who sail across the open ocean. Also, he vaguely remembered the hurricane that swept through the island when he was four years old. This is one force of nature you don't play around with. "You tried to sail through a hurricane?"

Norrington refused to answer the question, "So, do I make your crew or not? You haven't said where you're going. Somewhere _nice_?" The three keybladers and Jack look at each other as if they were trying to decide was it worth it to let Norrington on board. Disappointed by the silent, Norrington overturned the table in a fit of rage. The whole tavern went quiet and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked toward Norrington's direction. "So, am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?!" He then grabbed his gun and pointed at Jack. Sora, Riku, and Kairi summoned their keyblades in the advent of an attack. "Or should I just kill you now?" he said coldly.

In a ditch effort to save his life, Jack yelled out, "You're hired."

Norrington just sneered and changed his mind about joining to crew. "Sorry, old habits and all that."

Just before Norrington could pull the trigger, a hand from behind grabbed the gun. "I'm sorry, but killing Jack Sparrow is my job," the clocked figure said.

"Who're the devil are you?" Norrington slurred, only to receive a punch in the face as an answer.

"You're living on borrowed time Jack," the man in the blue cloak said. "Soon, you and this corrupt world will fade away."

"Over our dead bodies," Sora yelled pointing his keyblade at the figure.

"So be it," the figure shrugged nonchalantly. He jumped back and pulled his right fist back. "Gum-gum…ROCKET!!!!!" His arm stretched out like it was made of rubber, the punch landed on Sora's chest throwing him to the wall. When he hit the wall, he unintentionally let go of his keyblade which flew off and hit the chandelier, ricocheted off and shattered some man's beer mug. The man then knocked out the guy next to him which ignited a huge brawl in the tavern. The figure then tossed aside his blue cloak revealing himself to be a teenager Sora's age. He wore a red vest, blue shorts, sandals, and a straw hat.

_Who the hell is this freak_, Riku thought. "Who are you and what do you want?" What bothered Riku the most was this teenage boy's cold eyes.

"I'm Captain Monkey D. Luffy," the straw hat wearing teen said flatly. Some miscellaneous man from the brawl around them charged Luffy with a chair. Without even looking at him, Luffy took him out with one of his rubber punches. Un-phased, he continued, "I'm here to kill Jack Sparrow."

"Did Davy Jones send you?" Kairi asked. "We still have time left!"

"I'm not apart of Davy Jones' crew. I've sent myself."

"So then, I take it you are one of the people responsible for the outbreak of heartless across the universe," Riku asked in a flat monotone.

A small smirk came across Luffy's face as if he was amused by the silver-haired keyblader's ignorance. "Only on this world. Other entities and organizations are responsible for the outbreak of heartless on other worlds."

"Who are they?" Kairi pleaded trying to get some answers from the strange teen.

"Like I would tell you," he then sucker-punch Riku and leapt toward Kairi.

Kairi raised her keyblade in the air and yelled "Diaga!!" An intense bright light filled the room causing Luffy to drop on his knees and shielded his eyes. "Too bright for you, eh?" Riku said as he got and wipe the blood from his mouth. "Then let me provide you some shade!!!!" He leapt up and directed his left hand toward Luffy. Focusing all his energy he it all in one huge burst. "Take this!!! _Dark Firga!!!_" A massive ball of dark flames shot out from his hand and toward Luffy. The rubber teenager did a back flip and avoided the collision.

As the bright light started to fade, Sora came tottering over to Riku and Kairi. "He knocked the wind out of me," Sora coughed. Raising his keyblade into a battle ready position he looked toward Luffy. "So, did I miss anything?" Sora asked Riku semi-jokingly.

"Only the excitingly first half," his friend chuckled.

"Just as long as I don't miss the epic conclusion," Sora retorted.

"Hmm guys, where's Jack?" Kairi asked looking around the pub.

"If I know Jack," Sora started, "and I _do_, he's probably making a run toward the pier."

"Typical," Riku spat. "He leaves us to do the dirty work while he runs away."

Luffy cracked his knuckles and began to walk toward the keybladers. The keybladers raised their keyblades in preparation of an attack. Luffy yank back his right fist to perform another crazy 'rubber man' attack. "Gum-gu-"

Before he could attack he was sucker-punched and knocked out by Norrington. "No one catches James Norrington off guard and gets away with it." Norrington then turned to the rest of the bar and yelled, "Come on, then! Who wants some? Form an orderly line and I'll have you all, one by one. Come on, who's first?" Suddenly a young boy grabbed a rum bottle and smashed it over Norrington's head knocking him out cold.

Everyone stop what they were doing and look at the lad. He just chuckle nervously and said, "I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself." The crowd cheered and tossed both Norrington and Luffy outside with the pigs. The boy went outside and bent over to help Norrington up. "James Norrington," the lad said in a feminine voice. "What has the world done to you?"

Meanwhile at the pier Jack Sparrow was about to board his ship. He didn't have enough souls, but it would have to do. He just hoped and prayed he could haggle with Davy Jones to save his own skin, or soul as the case may be.

"Jack Sparrow!!!!" a familiar voice called out to him.

He sighed and turned around only to find Sora, Riku, Kairi starring daggers at him. "How many times I have to tell you blokes it's _Captain_ Jack Sparrow?"

"Don't give us that!!" Riku yelled. "You left us to fight that…that _freak_!!!"

"And I thank you for doing so," Sparrow said with a mock bow. "And I will personally return the favor one day."

"Then how about today," said Sora irritably. "Help us rescue Will, the other keyblader and his friends!"

"I am working on that plan now even as we speak," Jack slurred. Sora didn't buy it, he know Jack too well to know he would to anything to get out of trouble. Jack realized that nobody was buying it. "You blokes look like you don't trust your good 'ol Captain Sparrow."

"That's because we don't," Riku said bitterly. "So you can cut the crap, Jack."

"_Captain_," stressed Jack. "I'm a _captain_," he waved a finger in warning at Riku, "and I will be treated as such, savy?"

"Captain Sparrow!" called a voice. The owner of the voice, the same lad who knocked out Norrington, came to the strange group with Norrington near by.

"You see? Now this young lad was brought up right," Jack said hoping he could get it though the keybladers' thick heads. He then turned to the boy, "Come to join my crew, lad? Welcome aboard."

The boy stood steadfast, looked Jack Sparrow in the eye and said, "I'm here to find the man I love."

There was an uncomfortable silence before Jack said, "I'm deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea. But perhaps Riku'll strike your fancy?"

Both Sora and Kairi tried and failed to repress their laughter. Riku's cheeks burned and he clutched both of his fists. "I'M NOT GAY!!!!!!!!"

"That long hair suggest otherwise, mate," Jack Sparrow retorted.

"Yeah Riku," Sora put his arm around him still laughing. "Maybe you can have him braid your hair."

"THAT'S IT!!!!!" Riku then dropped kick Sora and soon they were both fighting on ground.

"Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow," the lad continued ignoring both Riku and Sora.

Jack looked over the lad before realizing he was, in fact, a woman; and not just any woman. "Elizabeth?" He never excepted to see her here in Tortuaga of all places. Before he would engage in the conversation further, he quickly turned to Kairi and said, "Hide the rum." Kairi looked at Sparrow like a man would look at someone who told him that breathing oxygen will give you cancer. Jack ignored Kairi's look of confusion and focus his attention toward Elizabeth. "These clothes don't flatter you at all. It should be a dress or nothing. Why don't we get acquainted in my cabin, where I happen to have no dress?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes; she didn't have time to deal with Jack's eccentricities. "Will left to find you, where is he?"

Jack put his hand over his heart and pretended to emphasize with Elizabeth. "Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but through unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable circumstances that had nothing whatsoever to do with me-"

"Will's aboard the _Flying Dutchman_," Kairi interrupted. "Thanks to 'Captain' Sparrow, Will and three others are forced to serve Davy Jones."

"Oh, please," Norrington scoffed looking worse for wear. "The captain of the _Flying Dutchman_?"

Jack finally took noticed of Norrington. "You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?"

"You hired me. I can't help it if your standards are lax," snapped Norrington trying to fight the worse hangover he ever had in his life.

The captain of the _Black Pearl _was not impressed. "You smell funny," he retorted.

"Jack!!!!!" Elizabeth shouted so loud that Sora and Riku stopped fighting with each other. "All I want is to find Will."

Jack looked at her curiously as if he was trying to concoct another plan. "Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?"

"Of course, Will is the man I love," Elizabeth said wondering why Jack asked her something that was so obvious.

"Because I would think you'd want to find a way to _save_ Will most," all the pieces were falling into place. Soon Jack's brilliant plan will commence. "There might be a way to save Will without having to get those ninety-six souls."

"What about the other keyblader?" Sora reminded Jack.

"Saving young master Turner will in turn save the others. There is a chest. A chest of unknown size and origin what contains the still-beating heart of Davy Jones. And whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants, including saving brave William, the keyblader and their friends from their grim fate."

"You don't actually believe him, do you?" asked an unconvinced Norrington.

"I agree with the drunk guy," said Riku. "This could be one of Jack's schemes to hang us all out to dry while he makes a break for it."

To everyone's surprised Elizabeth ignored them. "How would we find it?"

"With this," the pirate captain pulled out a compass and showed to the woman. "My compass…is unique."

"It's broken," Riku spat. "I remember looking at that thing; it never points north."

"True enough," Jack said as he stares daggers at Riku. All through this adventure the silver haired teen mock him every chance he got, "this compass does not point north." He then turned to his attention back toward Elizabeth. "It points to the thing you want most in this world."

"Oh Jack, are you telling the truth?" like the others she too knew that Jack will lie about anything for his profit.

"Every word, love," he placed the compass in Elizabeth's hands. "And what you want most in this world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?"

"To save Will," Ms. Swan corrected him.

Jack opened the compass, backed away, and added, "By finding the chest of Davy Jones." The compass spun around absurdly fast then bounced back and forward before settling in a fixed position. Jack looked at the compass and smiled, "We have our heading."

Everyone was about to get on the ship when something made a giant hole in the pier. They turned around and saw an extended arm returning back to its master; Luffy. "Everyone on the boat now!" Sora yelled summoning his keyblade.

"You won't get away from me Jack Sparrow!!!" Luffy then extended both of his arms, grabbed the railing of the ship and launched himself on the deck of the ship. "I told you, you were living on borrowed time. Prepare to die for both your crimes and the crimes of this world."

"What do you want from me, mate?" Jack said pointing his pistol at the straw hat menace. "Blood? … No wait, that's a poor choice of words."

Luffy then fired a punch to Jack, but it was blocked by Sora. The straw hat pirate then unleashed a barrage of punches at the keyblader who struggled to block each one of them. Riku tried to connect a strike at the pirate but he keeps twisting and bending his body to avoid the attacks. Kairi tired to freeze him with the Blizzara spell, but he dodged the spells too.

"Damn, he's fast," Riku complained as he dodged a punch. Never before he encountered an enemy this quick and this powerful. Luffy may have a slender body, but he had the strength of several men. He was convince that if he still had the 'dark mode' that Xehanort's Heartless gave him he would still have a ruff time with this rubber pirate.

"Then I guess we have to be faster," Sora wheezed. He began to focus all the energy in his body so he can perform his next attack. "Sonic Blade!" Faster than the eye could follow Sora landed four blows on Luffy causing the teen pirate to temporarily cease his onslaught.

"Oh, I see where you're getting at," Riku grinned. The keyblader took advantage of the pirate's hesitation. "Frenzy!" Riku laced together a series of combos from all sides that dealt major damage. The last hit was so powerful, it knocked Luffy from the ship and into the water. "Get ready for when he gets back on the ship," he warned.

When several moments of inactivity passed, Kairi dared herself to look over the side of the ship. "Uh, guys," she began, "I don't think he coming back on the ship."

Everyone when to the side of the ship and saw that Kairi was right. There in the water was Luffy struggling to stay afloat. "HHHEEEEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP!!!!! I CAN'T SWIM!!!!!!!!!!!!" he choked. Within a couple of seconds they no longer saw him and his body sank beneath the waves.

"Well, thank the good Lord _that_ is over and done," Jack spat as he took a swig of rum.

"You always seem to have the devil's luck," Norrington commented with distaste. "Every time someone wants to kill or capture you, misfortune falls upon them."

Jack thought about it for a second then just shrugs it off. "Just my luck I suppose."

Riku just rolled his eyes, "I'll be careful if you were you. Luck always has a habit of running out."

**Next Chapter: The Other Key**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

Don Carnaģe: Talespin(1991)

Will Turner: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)

Jack Sparrow: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)

Elizabeth Swann: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)

James Norrington: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl(2003)

Davy Jones: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest(2006)

Monkey D. Luffy: One Piece(manga 1997)

Sora: Kingdom Hearts

Riku: Kingdom Hearts

Kairi: Kingdom Hearts

**P.J.'s Blog Updated!**

Max Goof: Goof Troop(1992)

P.J.: Goof Troop(1992)

Minnie Mouse: Mickey's Surprise Party(1939)

Daisy Duck: Don Donald(1937)


	6. The Other Key

**Sorry it took so long to update, I have been busy with school. However, there is some good news, this chapter is LONG. This is probably the longest chapter that I ever written and will ever write. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Other Key**

A huge topical storm swept through the patch of ocean the _Flying Dutchman_ was on. Every crew member was utterly miserable, expect for one bobcat. "This is great!" he yelled to Miranda and Trevor who helped him tied down the mizzenmast. "I always wanted to be a pirate! I also bet we can get into great shape with all the hard work we're doin'!"

"Oh yeah… This is a regular five star gym," Miranda said sarcastically as she struggled with the rope.

"And your personal fitness trainer whips you if you slack off," Trevor added as he tied the rope down. He was always baffled about the bobcat's mysterious temperament. Bonkers always have a cheery disposition no matter what the situation. On some level Trevor envy him and wish he could think positively more often. However, it's hard to think positive when one day you're a typical college student and the next day you're on some godforsaken ship. Then something hit, he knew someone who was kind of like Bonkers. She was…

"_What are you doing out here in the rain?"_

"_Because I love the rain! I mean, don't you? The best days are when it's raining."_

"_Most people hate the rain. The days are always dark and gloomily when it rains. It's so depressing."_

"_I don't think so at all. I think rain is wonderful, because it cleanses everything!"_

"_What do you mean by that?"_

"_It's like rain washes away the sins of the world…"_

"Trevor? Trevor?! Trevor!!" Trevor woke up from his dream-like state to see Miranda shaking him. "Are you okay? You spaced out for a second."

Trevor rubbed his head, "I saw her again, Miranda. I _saw_ the blonde woman, when she was a _teenager_." Miranda looked at the keyblader with concern. "This time I remember something about her; she loves the rain…"

"GET BACK TO WORK, YOU LAZY SEA DOGS!!!!!" cracking his whip the overseer scowl over the sight that lay before him. "I'll have both of you tied to the mast and flay your backs wide open! No dallying around! Turner, grab that line!"

Will sprinted to the rope that was attached to a cannon swaying ominously from above, threatening everyone below that it was going to fall down. As he was struggling with the rope another crew member tried to take it from him. "Unless your name is Turner, go away!"

"As a matter of fact, it is!" Will retorted. For a moment they just looked at each other. Both of them realized that there was something very familiar with the other. Will was the first one to know why. "F-Father?"

"No," the transformed man gasped in stunned realization. He never thought he will see his son on this ship; not on this accursed ship! It was bad enough that he failed as a father, but now his only son was forced to share the same fate as him. In their absentmindedness, they let go of the rope causing the cannon to come crashing down.

Needless to say, the overseer was not happy about the cannon. "What do you think you were doing, fool? Secure him! Bind him down! I'll flog you good, insolent brat! You'll learn your lesson yet!" Two crewmen grabbed Will Turner and tied him to the mast of the ship.

"No!" cried Will's father as he wrestled the whip out of the overseer's hand. "I will take them all."

Suddenly a loud thumping sound silenced everyone; they all know who it was. Davy Jones came on the scene almost chuckling to himself; he knew everything about the situation at hand, but then again he knew _everything _that happens on his ship. "And what, pray tell, would cause such a magnanimous gesture of charity on your part, Mr. William Turner?"

"He's my son," Turner Senior weakly said.

"What? Why what a coincidence!" Davy Jones said will fake exuberance. "A father and son reunited after all these years!" All the crewmembers laughed maliciously; they all knew what their captain was planning. Trevor looked now with fear and amazement. He was afraid for Will's safety and wanting to help him, but since Davy Jones cut off his access to his keyblade he was practically useless. Davy Jones grabbed the whip and handed to Will's father. "As a good father should his son, discipline him. Make him an example for the crew."

"No, I won't!" he yelled. It was his fault; he should take the punishment and not his son.

"Aye, you will! Either you do it, or the boson! No other choice!" Davy Jones warned.

The senior Turner struggled with the ultimatum. Finally, he broke down. "Enough. You win."

"Aye, I win, Bootstrap Bill Turner. In the end I _always_ do." sneered Davy Jones. The tyrant pointed at Will, "Now…do!"

Bootstrap pull back whip, for a second it look like he wasn't going to do it, but then he let the whip fly. Will did his best to not scream as the whip tore his bare skin. Never in his life did Trevor saw such brutality. After a few stokes of the whips the crew members let Will go and returned to their post. Trevor turned to see that Davy Jones returned to his cabin. Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, and Bootstrap rushed over to Will.

"I'm sorry son," Bootstrap said with a regretful frown. "But like Jones said, it was either me or the boson."

Will just sneered at his long lost father, "And I to presume that you consider it to be an act of compassion?"

"Aye, I do. The boson prides himself on his ability to rend flesh from bone. All I did was give you a sting."

"Are you alright, Will," Miranda said with concerned.

Will just smiled, "I won't give up the ghost that easily." He turned to his father, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be…well…you know."

Bootstrap chuckled, "Dead? I'm sorry to disappoint you son."

Will shook his head a little trying to sort everything out in his head. "I'm not disappointed! Just…confuse and angry…and wondering how I'm going to get out of this mess!"

"Don't worry Will, we'll find a way to get off this ship!" Bonkers said trying to cheer everyone up.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Bootstrap said splashing cold reality over their hopes of escaping. "You are all stuck here for a hundred years now that you're members of the crew." He sighed heavily, "Whatever tempted you young ones to make such an insane decision?"

"I don't know about these three," he pointed to Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda. "But as for me, three words: Captain, Jack, Sparrow." His father's mouth fell open knowing what kind of man Jack Sparrow was.

"Who in the heck is Jack Sparrow," Trevor inquired.

Will just smiled, "It looks like all of us have a lot to talk about."

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia woke up with a start covered in sweat. First she looked around the room and recognized it as her own. She relaxed a bit, but then couldn't contain her laughter; she had a good dream last night and she took it as a good omen. She began to dress in her usual attire, a navy blue jean-skirt, comfortable tennis shoes, a purple sleeveless shirt with the symbol of a crescent moon, and her dream catcher necklace. She playfully tied her dark hair into a ponytail and then proceeded out the door. She took a step outside and looked up in the eternal night sky of Traverse Town. Punching her fist into the air, and having a huge grin on her face; she ran toward the second district.

She was excited, because her dream was about the keyblade. To her it was not only a symbol of hope, but a status symbol. Ever since she first heard that a young, spiky-head keyblader named Sora traveled the universe and saved it from the power of darkness, she wanted to be a keyblader. Unlike the other citizens of Traverse Town, she was a native. Her parents came from different worlds, married, and raise a small family in this city. Cynthia was one of the few true natives of the city eclipsed by night. As long as she could remember, she heard stories of other worlds, strange realms, and even stranger plains of existence. Sure she could take off in a gummi ship anytime she wanted to, but she didn't want to be some sort of tourist, but a hero like Sora.

Cynthia looked at her right hand and concentrated. "Come on…come on… Summon the keyblade…" She did that for three minutes before giving up. At first she was disappointed, but then she clinched her hand and shook her head. _No_, she thought, _I am a keyblade master in the making. All I have to do is train harder._

Meanwhile, in the first district, two stoic figures come out of the gummi ship hanger.

"I do _NOT_ want to do that again," Max groaned.

"Hey, at least we got to stabilize the ship," P.J. said trying to look on the bright side. "It's amazing what a little duck tape can do."

They took a look around their surroundings to find that Traverse Town look like a district of Paris sometime in the 1800's. "Wow…" P.J. exclaimed. "This is our first time in a new world! This is so cool!"

"Yeah…" Max said when it finally hit him. "We did it, Peej! We made it to a new world!"

"We're following the footsteps of your father and Donald Duck!" P.J. exclaimed.

Max just look at his friend angrily, at last thing he wanted is to be reminded of his father, let alone be compared to him.

P.J., however, took no notice of him; instead he pulled out his laptop and started typing. "Wow, my second blog entry! We're making process!"

"Whatever," Max simply stated. "Let's just find our keyblader and be on our way."

They made their way to the second district where they saw a twenty-year old woman practicing martial art moves in the plaza. "Hey!" Max called out to her. She turned around so her eyes can meet the two anthropomorphic animals. "Do you know any keybladers around here?"

Cynthia smiled and said, "No, but one day I'm going to be a keyblader."

Max rolled his eyes and whispered to P.J. "Great, a wannabe." He turned to Cynthia, "Well if you see one, look us up, come on Peej."

P.J. was, once again, not listening to Max but instead looking at the sky. "Uh, Max? What does it mean when armor starts falling from the sky?"

Max looked at P.J. with bewilderment, "What kind of stupid question is that? Armor falling out of-" He looked up and sure enough, giant purple armor fell from the sky and landed on the plaza with a huge _CRASH_! The pieces of armor then levitated from the ground and form a suit of armor.

"Opposite Armor," Cynthia yelled. "I don't understand, the only heartless that appears here now-days are Shadows and that's rarely happens!"

The Opposite Armor launched its claws forward and grabbed Max, squeezing the life out of him. P.J. tried to use magic but it was ineffective. Cynthia shot herself forward, maybe from instinct or perhaps from some sympathy from the dog boy, she crashed into Opposite Armor's torso causing it to release Max from its iron grip. She pushed Max behind her to protect him from any other attacks and almost like magic a silver keyblade appeared in her hand. The guard of the keyblade was two eighth notes while the 'teeth' of the keyblade was a Treble Clef. The name _Fury Symphony_ rang in her mind.

She looked at the keyblade stunned. "I can't believe it," she stammered. "I'm really a keyblader!"

One of Opposite Armor's claws clinched into a fist and tried to bash Cynthia's head, but this time it was Max who saved the day. He struggled to block the attack with his sword. "Hey, try to pay attention," he said as he pushed the claw away. "Maybe you live longer."

Before Cynthia could retort, the Opposite Armor turned its torso into a cannon and started charging energy. "It's going to fire a beam!" she yelled. Just as she said that, it fired a huge beam of energy that almost hit her and Max.

"Peej, a little assistance?!!!" Max yelled as he dodge an armored foot.

"I'm TRYING!!!" P.J. yelled as he tried to conjure up a fira spell, but to no avail. Both Cynthia and Max were unleashing combos trying to hold back the giant heartless, but every time it seems they got the advanced, the heartless would then gain ground. P.J. was, needless to say, stressed out. His best friend was in danger and there was nothing he could do to help him. He watch as the heartless just tossed Max aside like disregarded trash and then pinned Cynthia to the ground as it pointed its cannon-torso at her to fire another beam. Then something within him snapped and a sudden rush of magic flow throughout him. "STOP!!!!!" he yelled at the top of his voice raising his staff high in the air.

All of a sudden, the heartless cease moving and Cynthia destroyed the claw that was pinning her. "You know the 'Stop' spell?" she said surprised.

"Whoa, Peej. I don't think even Donald can use that spell as effectively as you did," Max preceded to destroy both feet.

Cynthia jumped up and performed an aerial combo destroying the last remaining claw. The spell then wore off and the helmet and torso went haywire, spinning uncontrollability throughout the plaza. "P.J. is it? Listen to me," Cynthia was forming a plan in her head. "I don't think you're supposed to be a red mage, but a time mage." P.J. thought about it for a second, it would explain why he always sucked at black and white magic. Cynthia continued, "I want you to cast a Graviga spell followed by Comet. Got it?"

P.J. looked down at his shoes, "I-I don't know if I can do it… I was never taught those spells."

"For God's sake P.J., grow some balls!" Cynthia yelled as she dodged the out of control heartless for the third time.

P.J. thought about it and then cast the spell, "Graviga!"

A ball of dark energy engulfed the heartless weighing it down tearing away the majority of its HP. Cynthia lifted the keyblade into the air and levitated off the ground a little. She felt energy pouring in her like she was born to wield the keyblade. "_Symphonic Rewrite! Zero Graviga!_" The energy flowed from her like music in the air and into the ball of gravity. The spell then, at first, dispersed then it sent the limbless heartless failing uncontrollability in the air unable to touch the ground. "NOW P.J.!!" she yelled unsure how long she can make the spell last.

P.J. threw up his staff again and summoned his next spell, "COMET!!!!" Suddenly, a rain of miniature comets fell from the sky and toward Opposite Guard; direct hit! The remaining armor then fell to the ground a released a heart.

"Alright!" Cynthia exclaimed as she high-fived P.J. "We're defeated a heartless!"

"Okay miss 'I don't know any keybladers,'" Max said dusting himself off. "You're coming with us."

"First of all, I said I was going to be a keyblader one day and that day happens to be today. Second, I'm not coming with you. I barely even know you two."

"Look, we're on a mission. Our king sent us to find you. We found you so you have to go on a journey with us."

"I don't have to go anywhere with you," Cynthia retorted. "Besides, I have places to go and people to see."

"Well then, you can see them _after_ our journey," Max said very annoyed.

"Perhaps you should take your journey and stick it up your-"

"Looks like two people are becoming really good friends," P.J. interrupted and brought them both into a forced group hug. "I going to say that I know we're going to have a really good time saving the universe together."

"Wait a minute," Cynthia forced her way out of P.J.'s group bear hug. "You want me to help you save the universe and become heroes?"

"Duh," Max sniffed. "That's what the journey is all about."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place? Come on, lets go!" she preceded to drag both P.J. and Max with superhuman strength to the gummi ship hanger. Now was her chance to shine, now was the chance for her to be among the greats like Sora or King Mickey. "Destiny, here I come!!!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, and Will watch three crew members play a game of dice. One crewmember, who was transformed in a hammerhead shark, grasp in dismay as he lost while the other players called him a lair. Bootstrap came to them, "Getting the gist of it, boys?"

"It's a game where you have to guess your opponent's hand in addition to your own," Will said continuing studying the game.

"It looks fun actually, but I always have the worst luck," Trevor stated.

"I don't get it," Miranda said rubbing her chin. "What they use to gamble with? I don't think they have anything of value."

"The only thing we have are years of service," Bootstrap replied. "A good player could leave this ship the next day, but an unlucky man would serve on this ship till Judgment Day. It's always a desperate gamble…."

"And can anyone on the ship be challenged?" Will interrupted.

"Aye," Bootstrap looked at his son curiously. "Why?"

Before he answered his father he turned to Trevor, "Are you sure you can't use your keyblade?"

Trevor shook his head, "Davy Jones is somehow blocking my access to the keyblade. I'm been trying to summon it for the past hour."

Will nodded, step forward and proclaim, "I challenge Davy Jones to a game!"

Everyone on deck stopped what they were doing and looked at Will as if he was the craziest man on Earth. Then an all-too-familiar thumping sound traveled through the deck. Davy Jones stood before Will and said, "Aye! I'll be accepting that challenge!" They sat before a makeshift table of crates, "And what are the stakes?"

Will looked him straight in the eye and calmly said, "My soul, a life of eternal service to you."

"No!" Bootstrap yelled.

"You know if you loose, you be stuck here forever!" dredged Bonkers.

"Think about Elizabeth! If you loose you never see her again!" Trevor warned.

Will ignored them and Jones continued, "Against?" Will took out a parchment from his pocket and threw it on the table. Davy Jones picked it up and unfold it. When he saw the image on it, he grasped and his eyes widened. "H-How…how do _you_ know about the Key?" he whispered.

Will continued to look at Jones calmly and answered, "That's not part of the game now is it? You _can_ still walk away."

All the crewmembers looked at each other uneasily; nobody has ever put Davy Jones in this awkward position. For a while, Jones didn't say anything. Then he used one of his tentacles and pulled out an odd key from his neck, for a while it looked like he was going to give it to Will then he pulled it away and the game commence. They both put their die in their cups and slammed it on the table.

All of a sudden there was a third slam, Will looked up and saw that his father entered the game. "No, don't do this," Will yelled.

"The die is cast. I can't back out of it now. If I lose, I'll take on your punishment." it was clear that Bootstrap wasn't going to be talked out of this out.

Davy Jones accepted Bootstrap entering the game, he then turn to Will. "All right, Young Master Turner…what be your wager?"

Will peeked into his cup and said, "Eight fives."

"Welcome to the crew lad. _Ten _fives," declared Davy Jones.

"Twelve fives," Bootstrap said. "Twelve fives. Call me a liar!"

"So be it!" Jones said. Both he and Will pulled up their cups to reveal their die. When Bootstrap didn't remove his cup Jones reach over and pulled it away. "Twelve fives?" he laughed cruelly. "You're a liar, Bill Turner, and you'll spend an eternity on my ship!" Some of his crew laughed with glee, he stood up and looked at Will, "And as for you, Young Master Turner, feel free to go ashore… provided that we actually ever _sail_ into port!" The entire crew laughed their heads off before returning to their stations.

Will however wasn't laughing; he began to lose his cool and banged his fist on the table. "You fool! Why did you do that?"

"Can't let you lose," Bootstrap sighed.

"No, it was never about winning or losing," Will groaned.

"Then what was it about?…" Trevor then had a revelation. "The key! You wanted to know where he kept the key!"

Will nodded his head, "Correct. Since your ability the summon the keyblade is gone, we need the key to open the chest that contains Davy Jones' heart. Even if you get your powers back once we leave this ship, I want to be the one to open the chest." Will turned to Bootstrap, "So I can kill him and free you."

Later that night, Bootstrap went up to one of the misshapen crewmember and said, "Captain says I'm to relieve you." At first the crewmember eyed him suspiciously, but then Bootstrap said, "Captain orders, take with him if you have a problem with it." Not wanting to have an argument with the captain, the crewmember relinquished the wheel and went away. Bootstrap then signaled the others. Both Will and Trevor popped out of the shadow and stuck their way into the captain's cabin.

When Trevor and Will enter the cabin they were surprised by the size of it. Toward the end of the room they saw a sleeping Davy Jones laid across the keyboard of his pipe organ. Will signaled Trevor to stay put near the doorway and keep watch; he then tiptoed over to Davy Jones. He worked his way around the tentacles on Davy Jones' face in order to search for the key. Once he found the key he slowly took it out and replaced it with the parchment. Inhaling deeply he tiptoed toward the entrance and left the cabin with Trevor.

"I got the key!" Will showed Trevor excited. Trevor took the key to get a better look at it when the strangest thing happened. Both him and the key started to glow and then in a flash his clothes transformed and a new keyblade appeared in his hand. His clothes now fit the world's atmosphere; he could have fooled anyone into believing that he was a pirate. The keyblade he was holding wasn't his usual keyblade, the guard was a ship's steering wheel and the 'teeth' of the keyblade was a ship's anchor. The words _Buccaneer Drive Form_ flash in his head. As quick as his new state appeared, with another flash, it disappeared; he was once again in his normal clothes holding Davy Jones' key.

"What just happened?" Will said shocked.

"I-I don't know…" Trevor said also shocked. "One second I felt this surge of power, then the next I transform, and now I'm back to normal." He thought about for a moment, "Perhaps you should hold on to the key."

"Yeah, I think that would be a wise decision," Will said as he took the key from him.

"Phsst, over here!" a voice whispered. They both turned around a saw Bonkers motioning them to come over. They saw that Bootstrap, Miranda, and Bonkers prepared the longboat for their escape. When they were about to cast off, Will turned to his father, "Will you be all right? They'll know you helped us!"

Bootstrap gave a deep, low laugh. "What more can they do to me?" He then handled him a knife. "Here, take this too. Now get yourself to land and stay there. It was always in my blood to die at sea. It was not a fate I ever wanted for you."

"It's not a fate you had to choose for yourself, either," Will said almost angry.

"Aye. I could say I did what I had to, when I left you to go pirating. But it would taste a lie to say it wasn't what I wanted. You owe me nothing, Will. Now, you and your friends go."

Will raised the knife in the air, "I take this with a promise, I'll find a way to sever Jones' hold on you, and not rest until this blade pierces his heart. I will not abandon you. I promise."

Bootstrap help them cast off, "Hurry and get land! Your promise does us no good if Jones catches you!"

All through the night, they rowed in hopes to find land or a ship. Finally, after many hours they came across a huge merchant ship. The captain pulled all four of them on deck, threw warm blankets over them, and gave them hot drinks. "Where did all of you come from?" he asked. "You all look like castaways, but where is your ship?"

Will was quick to answer, "Destroyed. Listen, we need to make for Tortuga right away! It's extremely urgent."

The captain looked at them strangely, "We already been to that port. Made a good fortune there (off the books of course). I don't think we have any reason to return there."

"Listen!" Will yelled angrily, but was interrupted by a man.

"A ship! Off the starboard bow!" said the man in the crow's-nest.

All four of them exchange worried glances; Trevor, now able to summon his keyblade, got it out, Miranda her katana, Bonkers his staff, and Will his father's knife. When they looked over the railing of the ship they saw the last thing they want in their lives. "No!" Trevor exclaimed. "Not after we worked so hard to escape!" What they saw was a vessel made entirely out of seaweed, coral, and other undersea life forms; the _Flying Dutchman_ followed them.

Will turned hysterically at the captain. "We have to get away from that ship as quickly as possible!" he yelled. "It's the _Flying Dutchman_!"

"The _Flying Dutchman_?" the captain scoffed at him. "It probably another merchant ship. From the looks of it a lost one. The _Flying _Dutchman is just a myth use to scare children at night."

"Trust me, it's no myth," Trevor said raising his keyblade in preparation for battle.

Davy Jones grinned as he spied on the helpless merchant ship; soon vengeance will be his. He turned his attention to Bootstrap, "You will watch this!!! No one double-crosses Davy Jones and lives to regret it." He nodded to the Boson, who started cracking his whip forcing the other crewmembers to turn a crankshaft. As a giant hammer rose in the sky, Davy Jones bellowed, "Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... _the Kraken_!"

Then the hammer fell, causing ominous vibrations to echo across the water. Everyone on the merchant ship heard it, including the captain. Suddenly, the ship halted to a stop. "Did we just hit a reef?"

"I don't think there are any reefs in the open ocean," Trevor corrected him backing away from the railing.

The captain nodded and turned around and saw a huge tentacle coming out of the water. Quick as a snake, the tentacle grabbed him and dragged him to the depths below.

The alarm bell started ringing as the men of the ship started grabbing spears, riffles, harpoons, and guns; anything they can use to defend themselves. More tentacles burst from the water ready to attack the ship. Trevor was the first one to act, just before the first tentacle smashed the ship he jumped into the air, did a ten hit aerial combo, and successfully reflected the tentacle.

Another tentacle burst from the water and grabbed Miranda, flinging her wildly in the air. She tried to hack the beast with her katana, but to no avail. "I'll save you Miranda!!!" Bonkers shouted. He channeled all of his energy in his next attack. He pointed his staff toward the offender and shouted, "Firaga!!!" A huge mass of unyielding flame came before him and shot itself toward the tentacle. The tentacle rupture into flame and the beast give a painful, earsplitting shriek. The creature's grip on Miranda loosens and she managed to free herself. While freefalling in the air she cut off the top of the tentacle causing a sickening mixture of blood and ammonia to gush out. Bonkers manage to catch her before she fell on the deck. "Are you okay Miranda?" the bobcat asked worriedly.

"I'm fine Bonkers," she said as she pulled a huge eagle-like talon from her side. "Trevor, watch out!" she yelled toward the keyblader. "The creature's suckers have hooks in them!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Trevor said as he dodged another tentacle.

The rest of the crew wasn't so lucky. One by one they were dragged into sea, while the other tentacles were smashing the ship into pieces. "Trevor," Will yelled. "This ship won't last long! We need to find a way to escape!" As soon as he said that two giant tentacles raised themselves high in the air and slam themselves on the middle of the ship tearing it into two.

Trevor, Will, Bonkers, and Miranda were thrown off the ship from the force of the impact. When Trevor opened his eyes underwater he saw the Kraken's body. Surely this was a creature that was spawn in hell; Mother Nature wouldn't make a monster as horrible as this. He felt someone pulling him upwards and saw that it was Will. Will pulled him to the side of the _Flying Dutchman_ where he saw Bonkers and Miranda hanging on for dear life. All four of them climbed up the ship peaked under the railing.

"The keyblader and his friends are nowhere to be found captain," said a mutant crewmember. "Surely they were claimed by the sea."

Davy Jones huffed, "The Sea? I am the SEA!"

"What of the survivors?" the crewman motion to a handful of men who, by grace, survive the Kraken.

"Did you say there was survivors, I see no survivors." With that the crewmembers raise their axes and killed the sailors.

"Where to, captain?"

"To the island with no name!" Jones shouted. "The chest isn't safe!"

"The chest, but how to you know?"

"Only one man alive knows about the key and sent Will Turner and his keyblade friends to steal it!" The monster captain turned to the sea and spat, "Jack Sparrow!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Sora, Kairi, Riku, Elizabeth, Norrington, and Jack Sparrow landed on the island with no name minutes ago and already Kairi had to break up two fights between Jack and Riku. "Can't you two work together for five minutes?!" Kairi huffed. "We're doing this to save Will and the others!"

Riku pointed his keyblade angrily at Sparrow, "I would, if _Jack_ would stop goofing off and be serious for one second!"

"First of all," Jack slurred. "I'm not goofing off; I'm just a bit drunk. Second, if I told you bloody once I told you a thousand bloody times it's _Captain _Jack Sparrow!"

Elizabeth and Sora ignored all the useless fighting and continue to follow the compass. All of a sudden the compass arrow started to spin wildly so they went and another direction. Then stop when the compass pointed in the opposite direction and went in that direction. They did this for a couple of times before giving up and sitting down on the sand. "This doesn't work," Elizabeth spat as she tossed the compass aside.

"So much for it showing you what you want the most," Sora mocked.

Jack picked up the compass and looked at the arrow. He was shocked to see the arrow was pointing directly at Elizabeth and Sora. "It still works; you're just sitting on it."

Sora and Elizabeth exchange confused looks when Sparrow brushed them aside and motion for Riku and Norrington to start digging. It only took a short time before them hit something hard. All of them brushed of the few specks of sand to reveal a chest. Riku and Norrington heaved the chest up and Sora tapped his keyblade against it to open it. At first, it didn't look like it was the right chest; it was filled with old letters and trinkets making the chest look like something someone would keep in an attic. Jack brushed aside the old letters revealing a smaller chest, they all lean closer to the iron chest and heard several soft _thumps_.

They had found the Dead Man's Chest.

"It's real," whispered Elizabeth.

"It's more than real, it's right here before us!" Sora exclaimed.

"Alright, lets crack this baby open," Riku said as he raised his keyblade in the air. No sooner when his keyblade hit the chest a huge shockwave erupted from the iron chest and threw everyone backwards.

"Figures," Jack Sparrow spat. "Davy Jones must've put an enchantment on the chest so the only the proper key can open it."

"You could have told us that sooner!" Riku bellowed.

"What else do you what from me? The chest is real and I was telling the truth. You blokes act like I never tell the truth."

"And for good reason," said a mysterious voice.

Elizabeth was the first one to react, "Will?" She got up on her feet, "Is that really you?"

Sora and Kairi were the next two to get up and saw that Will had company with him: a nineteen year old boy with dark brown hair and a keyblade, an attractive blonde woman was in her late twenties maybe early thirties, and a very happy-go-lucky bobcat.

Elizabeth ran toward Will and threw her arms around him. "You're all right! Thank God! I came to find you!"

"So Will and the new keyblader didn't need help," said Riku. "How did you all escape?"

Before Will could answer, Bonkers interrupted him, "Each of us tied a pair of sea turtles to our feet and brave the open ocean looking for the island with no name!"

"Not so easy, is it?" Jack scoffed.

Will focused his attention toward Jack, "But I do owe you thanks, Jack. After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones...I was reunited with my father." Will then when up to the chest, dropped to his knees, pulled out his father's knife and the key to the chest. "Now excuse me, I must kill Davy Jones in order to free my father."

Before Will could get an inch closer to the chest Jack pulled out his sword and pointed toward him. "Can't let you do that, William. 'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" Will slowly got on his feet and stared intensely at Jack. "Besides I got plans for that heart. Now, if you please, the key."

"What?!!" Sora summoned his keyblade and pointed it at Jack. "You were using all of us the whole time?!!!" Sora shook his head in despair. "Something inside me was telling me that was the case; that you were up to your old tricks again. But I convince myself that you changed, that you really wanted to do something good. I guess I was a fool. We no longer have a need for the chest, Jack. We should bury it back into the ground."

Will made use of this distraction by grabbing Elizabeth's sword and pointing it at Jack. "I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father." He then pointed the sword at Sora, "I'm sorry Sora, you are a good friend, but I must strike you down if you're in my way."

"I can't let any of you complete your plans. So sorry." This time Norrington pulled out his sword and pointed it at all three of them. "Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it; I get my life back…, but then again…" Norrington shifted his sword from Jack Sparrow to Sora. "An odd fellow by the name of Naraku, or something like that, once said to me if I can deliver the chest to him and kill one of the keybladers, he would give me power beyond my wildest dreams. Decisions, decisions."

"Now wait a minute!" Now Trevor pointed his keyblade at everybody. "I'm sick and tired of being left in the dark! Who is this Naraku? Who is this blonde girl that I keep seeing in my head?! Where the hell is my friend, Vince? And what the hell is a keyblade, who made it, and why they chose me to wield it?! If I have to beat all of you up for answers then so be it!" He then took a stab at Jack who parried the attack and went after Will who was blocking Sora who in turn was trying to get some distance between himself and Norrington.

The fight looked like a choreograph dance with flinging arms and blades whirling in the wind; no one was gaining the upper hand. Trevor tried to take out Norrington, but the former naval officer bested him every time. "Who did you learn to sword fight from, a codfish?" Norrington mocked as he parried the last attack and stabbed him in the shoulder.

Before Norrington could land the next blow, Miranda blocked the attack. "No one hurt the boy while I'm around."

A strange power began to flow into Trevor and he decided to go with it. Instantly he and Miranda burst into light and fused together. When the glow faded, Trevor stood there in his Buccaneer Drive Form with the _Follow the Wind_ keyblade in his hand. He pointed the keyblade at Norrington, "Shall we dance?" Trevor's attacks were now surer, more confident; it was like he'd studied fencing all of his life. He backed Norrington up to the rest of the fighters. When Jack saw that Norrington was vulnerable he attempted to stab him, but Norrington parried Trevor's attack, spun around and blocked his, and in doing, elbowed Sora causing him to fall over.

Seeing his chance, Trevor rushed over to attack Sora only to be block by Riku. "Attacking a man when he's down," Riku spat. "How low could you get?" Trevor then kicked Riku away and proceeded toward Sora.

Sora managed to avoid the attack and sidestep passed him. "So you can use Drive Forms," Sora huffed, out of breath. "Well, so can I. _Dark Valor Drive Form!!!_" Sora and Riku burst into light and fused together. When the light faded, Sora was in a dark red version of his outfit with _Way to the Dawn_ and _Oblivion_ in his hands. Norrington, Jack, and Will were far into the jungle now to bother them; they can fight _mano a mano_.

The two keybladers clashed along the beach and with every second Trevor felt his was losing the battle. Sure his new form gave him a unique insight in swordsman techniques and a certain control over his movements, but Sora form came with extra defense and worst; more attack power. This disadvantage made became clearer when every blow he felt was like he was hit by four cinder blocks. If he was going to beat Sora he better think of a plan and fast.

Kairi, Elizabeth, and Bonkers were the only ones left to guard the chest. Elizabeth and Kairi were shouting at the men calling them barbarians, vandals, and being unable to understand that all they needed to do was compromise. Bonkers just sat on the chest and looked toward the ocean. The bobcat's eyes bugged out at what he saw in the horizon. The _Flying Dutchman_ was _here_; worst yet, rowboats were coming this way! He ran toward the woman panicking, "Guys, guys!!!"

Kairi stopped and turned around, "What is it?" She look toward the direction where Bonkers was pointing grasped as strange mutant sailors was coming ashore. "Elizabeth, grab the chest! We need to get out of here!" Kairi yelled. Elizabeth wasted no time, she and Kairi grabbed the chest and headed into the jungle with Bonkers following. "You there," she was referring to Bonkers. "Do you think you can cover us with magic?"

Bonkers saluted her, "Bonkers D. Bobcat can and will! Show me where they're at and I will blast with my staff. They won't know what hit 'em!"

"How about now?!" Elizabeth gestured to a pair of Davy Jones's crewmen in front of them.

Bonkers pointed his staff at them and fired two fira spells. At first the creatures looked stun, but then they continued their pursuit.

"Bonkers, you gotta use Thunder based spells!" Kairi pleaded. "From the looks of it their element is water, you gotta counter it Thunder! They maybe weak against that!"

Bonkers nodded and fired a thundara spell at the offenders and was pleased to find out that it worked. The crewmen instantly collapsed never to move again. They continued on in the dense jungle when more crewmen came. When they tried to run the other way they found out they were surrounded.

"Bonkers gave me your hand," Kairi demanded trying to keep the chest far away from the crewman as possible.

"I don't know Kairi," Bonkers said sheepishly. "I mean, I have a girlfriend back home and…"

"Not in that way," Kairi hissed. "We need pool together our magic so I can unleash a special attack!"

"Oh, why didn't you say so," Bonkers said as he offered his hand.

Kairi grabbed it, thrust her keyblade in the air and shouted, "_Thundaga Fury!!!!!_" Then the sky began to crack and shattered into pieces revealing a dark abyss. Powerful streams of lightning fell from the absent sky annihilating all the enemies.

Elizabeth stared in awe as the pieces of the sky reassemble themselves. "Remind me to never get you angry."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing." All three of them turned around and saw a familiar looking figure wearing a straw hat.

"You!" Kairi said shocked beyond believe. "I thought you drowned!"

Luffy laughed, "So did I, but a sea turtle saved my life. Lucky for you, huh?"

"Bonkers, Elizabeth, take the chest and get out of here!"

"But…" Bonkers tried to complain.

"Get out of here! Protecting that chest is our top priority! Not this guy! Find Will and the others, knock some sense into them, and come up with a plan. I'll be fine."

At first Elizabeth and Bonkers hesitated, worrying about the princess of heart. Finally, they nodded and ran into the depths of the jungle.

"Come back!! I need that heart!!" Luffy extended his reach so he could grab the chest, but Kairi blocked him with her keyblade.

"You fight is with me now!" the female keyblader yelled.

"So it seem," Luffy said massaging his wounded hand.

Then something hit Kairi; this guy could be working for Naraku, or whatever Norrington said. "Tell me, do you work for Naraku?"

"I work for nobody but myself!" He launched a fury of punches and Kairi dodged each one.

After dodging the last punch, Kairi yelled, "Blink!" and three Kairi copies appeared and all charged the straw hat pirate.

"Fake," Luffy said as the first Kairi rush through him as if it was a ghost. "Fake," as the second Kairi did the same thing. "Real," as he punched the third (and real) Kairi into a palm tree. "You honestly not think that trick was going to fool me?"

She struggled to her feet, grabbing the tree for support. "No, but this will. _Invisira!!!_" No longer when her breath the last word, she vanished.

Luffy was baffled, never before he encountered such a technique. He was suddenly hit on the head with a sharp object; he assumed it was the keyblade. Then he was hit in the ribs and then the thigh. The fact he was made out of rubber cushions the blows more than regular skin, but it still hurts. _Calm down Luffy_, he thought. _You can find out where she is going to attack next if you clear your mind._ He thought about it for a second, what would the next logical attack? _… The front._ He clapped his hands in front of him and sure enough he caught an invisible keyblade. Kairi's spell broke and she became visible again. She was so close, she could have beaten him. Luffy was now out for blood, he tossed her against another tree and pulled his fist. "You shouldn't have gotten in my way," he said simply.

Kairi was exhausted; she didn't know what else she could do. "Sora…help," she whispered before the fist connected.

Trevor was on his knee, panting. Never before he faced such a person, not even that humanoid typhoon guy was this tough. And now he was literally staring at oblivion.

Sora was pointing it at him.

Then a curious thing happen, Sora looked up as if he was distracted. "Kairi?" he whispered. "Kairi?!" he said with more urgency in his voice. A light once again engulf him and he spilt into Riku and Sora again. As soon as they were certain they were separate they took off into the jungle.

"Hey," Trevor coughed. "What about our fight?"

"Kairi's in danger!!!" Sora called back. Obviously Kairi was more important than some dumb 'ol fight.

Having lost most of his energy, Trevor spilt back into himself and Miranda. "Warn me the next time you do that," Miranda said as she clutched her head. "I wasn't ready to find out what it's like to be a college-age boy."

"Whatever," Trevor huffed as he got up. "We need to follow them and see what's up." All of a sudden, an explosion erupted near them. Before they could get their bearing, two more erupted. They turned around and saw the _Flying Dutchman_ firing cannonballs at the beach. "Head for the jungle, to take cover!!!" Trevor yelled holding his ears, wishing the ringing in his head would stop. As he was running for his life he wondered what entity, god, metaphysical force, or higher power wanted him to be on this godforsaken island being shot at.

Sora, Riku, Trevor, and Miranda arrived just in time to see Kairi being kicked by Luffy. Sora, out of rage, sent his keyblade crashing down on the straw hat pirate's head. The pirate rolled on the ground twice before getting up, but soon received an onslaught from Riku. Trevor and Miranda rush to Kairi's aid by using their curing spells and items.

Sora laid the final blow knocking Luffy unconscious. "Creep!" he spat. He and Riku then turn their attendance toward their longtime friend. "Kairi," he put his hands on the sides of her face, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Sora, Riku," Kairi panted. "The little creep just took me by surprise. I'm fine now." Sora helped her on her feet. "Bonkers and Elizabeth are still out there with the chest. We need to find them and the others fast."

As soon as she said that, a giant mill wheel rolled past them with Norrington and Will were fighting on the top and Jack was running inside it. They were followed by Bonkers and Elizabeth carrying the chest toward the beach. "I guess we follow them," Trevor said both confused and amazed.

They all heard rustling behind them and saw Davy Jones' crew members ready to attack. "Now will be a good time to go back to the _Black Pearl_," Sora said.

When the keybladers reached the beach they saw Norrington grabbing the Dead Man's Chest from Bonkers and Elizabeth. "You're mad!" Elizabeth said shocked.

"They are going to catch you," Bonkers warned.

"Don't wait for me." Norrington said as he ran off with the chest. When Davy Jones' crew saw he had the chest they all started to chase after him.

"I say we respect his final wish," Sparrow said as he got on a longboat. The rest of them soon followed and they were on their way to their ship, the _Black Pearl_.

When they got on the ship, everyone was relieved to have escape Davy Jones' wrath. However, their celebration was short lived when the _Flying Dutchman _pop out of the water a few miles from them. Everyone except, Jack Sparrow was worried. "I'll handle this, mates," he said holding a jar of dirt over his head. "Hey, fishface!! Lose something? Eh? _Scungilli_!" Jack began to point at the jar. "Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git? Look what I got." Everyone started to scratch their heads, when did Jack Sparrow open the chest and stole the heart? In Jack's childish excitement, he accidentally dropped the jar and shattered it to pieces. Jack looked frantically over the floor of the deck. "Where is it? Where is the thump-thump? I stole the key when Will wasn't looking and opened the chest when Elizabeth and that cat-thing abandon it temporary." Then Jack stopped looking, he knew who have taken it. "Norrington," he hissed.

All of a sudden the ship came to an abrupt halt. "Did we hit a reef?" Riku said.

Will's, Trevor's, Miranda's, and Bonkers' eyes widen, they knew what going to happen. "Everyone away from the railing now!!!!" Miranda yelled. "Prepare yourselves for battle!!! Do it now!!!!"

"It'll attack the starboard," screamed Will. "I've seen it before. Run out the cannons and hold for my signal!"

"Something comin' toward us!" yelled Bonkers.

"From the water?"

"No, from the island!"

Sure enough, something jumped from the island and landed on the boat as if it was nothing. The 'thing' was none other than Monkey D. Luffy. Will didn't have time for this. "Jack, Kairi, Elizabeth, Miranda, and Bonkers man the cannons! The rest of you, take care of that… _thing_!"

"Jack…" the teen pirate said in pain. "Give me Jack!!!!!!!"

"Great, as if we didn't have enough problems," Riku spat as he summoned his keyblade. "This guy is like a cockroach, he keeps coming back."

"You hurt Kairi…" Sora said unable to control his anger. "You hurt Kairi and I'm not letting you get away from that!!!!!"

"What are you trying to do?!!!" Trevor said disgusted. "What is your goal?!! What do you want from us?!!!!"

"My-my goal?" Luffy asked as he collapsed on the deck. His eyes began to soften and tears flow through. "I was going…. I was supposed to be…."

The Kraken's tentacles sudden burst through the water and went higher than the tallest mast on the ship.

"Fire!!!!!" Will cried. The cannons hit the tentacles causing them to retreat back into the water. "It'll be back. Pull the grates; get all the gunpowder onto the net in the cargo hold!" He turned and gave Elizabeth a riffle. "Don't miss."

"As soon as you're clear," she replied.

"What about this poor excuse of a pirate?" Trevor said pointing to Luffy.

"Leave him!" Will said rushing to get thing ready. "From the looks of it he couldn't put up a fight even if he tried!"

"Will, we're short on gunpowder! Only six barrels!" Miranda called.

"Then load the rum," Will called back. The ship swayed abruptly again, the tentacles burst from the water again and this time destroying the cannons. They snake their way in and out of the ship grabbing random crew members and dragging them to their deaths.

"The least you can do is help us," Riku kicked Luffy in his ribs. "Get up and help us!! Do you want to die?!!!"

"…yes…" Luffy replied softly. As a reply to his wish a tentacle grabbed him and lifted him in the air. "All I even wanted was to see my crew again," he said to no one is particular. "Zorlo, Nami, Sanji, Chopper…I wish we could have gone on one more adventure…" Luffy laughed quietly to himself and for some reason he was not afraid, "Looks like I don't get to become the king of the pirates after all." The tentacle then plunged into the water and the straw hat pirate was no more. Riku stood as if he was in a trance then shook himself off and began to help the others.

"Haul away!" Will ordered as men heave a net full of explosives. "Come on heave! Heave like you're being paid for it!!!" The net lifted out of the cargo hold and Will grabbed on to it to guide it. A stray tentacle smashed the pulley causing the net to stop in mid air. Will lose his balance and got his boot trapped in the netting. He began to cut the net with his father's knife. "Shoot!!!" he pleaded to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth shoot!!!!"

Elizabeth hesitated, hoping that Will would free himself before she would have to take the shot. Her hesitation cost her, for a tentacle grabbed her leg and dragged her across the deck. Seeing this, Kairi ran over and hacked the tentacle with her keyblade. Elizabeth was about to reclaim her riffle when a boot stepped on it, she looked up and saw Jack Sparrow. "You came back," she breathed.

"Was I ever gone?" Jack said he picked up the riffle and took aim.

Will managed to free himself and fell on the deck. Then three massive tentacles wrapped themselves around the explosives, Jack fired the riffle causing a massive explosion and rendered the three tentacles useless to the hellish creature.

For a while nothing happen causing everyone to be on edge; the calm before the storm. "Did we kill it?" Sora whispered.

"No," Trevor breathed. "We just made it angry."

"Everyone abandon ship and into the longboat," Jack Sparrow ordered grimly.

"But Jack, the _Pearl_! You went to so much trouble to get this ship back!" Sora said.

"She only a ship, mate," Jack said sadly.

Sora nodded and shouted, "Abandon ship!" Everyone was getting into the longboat expect for Jack and Elizabeth. Jack took one last look at his beautiful ship before he would to force to abandon it.

"Thank you Jack," Elizabeth said. "I saw leave with the last longboat awhile ago and yet you came back." She stepped closer to him. "I always knew you were a good man." She then lean forward and kissed him. In the middle of the kiss, Elizabeth shackled Jack to the mast of the ship. At first Jack looked at her perplexed, but she just looked at him fiercely. "It's after you not the ship. It's not us. This is the only way, do you see? … I'm not sorry…"

Jack only smiled and said "Pirates."

Elizabeth then stormed off and head for the longboat. When she got on Will asked, "Where Jack?" obvious peeve about something.

Her heart skipped a beat, _did he saw me kiss Jack_, she thought. She felt so ashamed, but she did it to save them; it was the only way. "He elected to stay behind to give us a chance." Everyone on the longboat look at each other for a moment wondering what cause Jack to do just a thing, but Elizabeth interrupted their thought process. "GO!!!!" she order and Miranda lowered the longboat and their rowed off toward land.

Jack struggled with his shackles when he felt the ship lurch. He looked over and saw an oil burning lamp and an idea came to him. He used his sword to retrieve the lamp and use the oil to try to free himself. When he was finally free, he turned around and saw the horrifying mouth of the Kraken. It roared at him and spit up a cap. Jack picked it up, wipe off the slime, and put it on his head. "Thanks mate, I was looking for my lucky captain hat," he said to the creature. "Now it's my turn to repay the favor. Say hello, beastie." He drew his sword and headed into the creature's mouth.

The others on the longboat looked in fearful awe as the Kraken destroyed the _Black Pearl_. Even Davy Jones observed the scene through his spyglass. "Jack Sparrow," he began. "At last our debt is settled."

"A captain goes down with his ship. Not even Jack Sparrow can best the devil," said one of his mutant crewmen.

"Open the chest," Davy Jones ordered. When the crew unlocked the Dead Man's Chest, the monster sea captain opened it, only to find it empty. "Damn you, Jack Sparrow!!!!" he wailed.

Lord Beckett sat at his desk annoyed that he had to be interrupted. "The last of our ships have has returned," said the man who interrupted him.

"Is there any news on the chest?" only the progress of his plans to control the world's oceans was the only news he wanted to hear.

"None," said the man. "But one of the ships did pick up a man adrift at sea. He had these." The man lifted up a leather envelope and planted it on the desk. Lord Beckett picked it up and began to look through it.

"I took the liberty of filling in my name," Norrington said in a corner.

Lord Beckett motioned him to come forward, "If you intend to claim these, if you truly want your freedom then you must have something to trade. Do you have the compass?"

Norrington laughed a little, "Better." He then tossed a sack on Lord Beckett's desk containing a still beating heart. "The Heart of Davy Jones." Lord Beckett looked at Norrington will disbelief. "Oh it's the real thing, if you're not going to reward me I know someone else who will pay me top dollar for this."

"No, that won't be necessary," Lord Beckett said. "I will make sure you are rewarded in full."

Everyone on the longboat made it safely to land and was now at the voodoo priestess's, Tia Dalma, hut. She handed out drinks to everyone, "For the cold and the sorrow." Everyone in the hut was mourning. Jack had given his life to save theirs; finally Jack did something right in his life for a change. Elizabeth was the most distance, not because she was mourning, but because she knew she condemn Jack to his fate.

Will looked at her and then said to Tia, "If there was anything could be done to bring him back...?"

"Would you do it?" Tia said hopefully. "What would you...what would any of you be willing to do, hm? Would you sail to the ends of the Earth and beyond to fetch back witty Jack and him precious _Pearl_?" Everyone nodded their head in agreement, but Tia shook her head at the keybladers and their friends. "I'm afraid young bearers of the key it is not your destiny to save Jack from his fate. The journey to save Jack is long and hard and you all have other worlds to save; other destinies that need to be fulfill."

Sora nodded, "She right, we do have other worlds to save and the king told us to meet him and Leon at Radiant Garden. All of us could come back later to help out."

"I'm afraid key bearer of the light, that only you and your two friends are the only ones who will come back to this world. It would seem that destiny have different plans for young Trevor and his friends." The voodoo priestess walked over to Trevor casually and whispered in his ear. "I know all about the darkness inside you, young key bearer. And I know that you will have to go through much pain and suffering to get rid of it. If you take any shortcuts on the way, this sickness of the soul you will swallow you whole and turn you into a creature of the darkness."

Trevor shuddered as Tia walked pass him. _A dark power? … Inside me?_ he thought.

"Everyone," Will began. "Thank you all for helping us in this adventure. I'm sorry that you won't be joining us to find Jack, but…"

Sora put a comforting hand on Will's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said, "We'll be back again someday. And when that day comes I will help you free your father."

"Thank you, Sora. You don't know what that means to me."

The keybladers and their cohort went outside the hut and stared into the swamp. The marsh was surprising nice and peaceful; creepy, but peaceful. The silence that hung over the group was so thick you can hear a pin drop from miles away.

"I forgot!!!!!!" Miranda yelled startling everybody. "We crash-landed here! We don't have a ship!!"

"Oh yeah…" Trevor and Bonkers said simultaneously.

"Oh that right," Sora said as he slapped his head. "When we found out you guys were on Davy Jones' ship we decided to tell Chip and Dale, our ship's mechanics, to find your ship so we can hack into it."

Trevor gave Sora a displeasing look, "You tired to hack into _our_ ship?"

"We only wanted to know if you know anything about what is going on in the universe," Riku said with his arms folded.

"You mean you guys don't know what's going on either?!" Bonkers gasped.

"The king only told us that the heartless are invading the worlds again, that someone is behind them, and to investigate Port Royal. But that's getting beside the point. We found out that your ship is damage so we asked Chip and Dale to fix it up for you." On cue the clouds parted and Sora's gummi ship and the Heart of Gold could be seen floating in sky.

"You guys are amazing!" Trevor said looking up in awe.

"Just be careful," Kairi warned. "Your ship's fuel line was ruptured and beyond repair, so you may have to stop another world and recharge it with solar energy."

"No problem," Bonkers said leaping up in the air rejoicingly as the Heart of Gold prepared to beam them up. "Alright, we're on the road again!"

"Remember," Riku said trying to give them one last piece of information. "Try to get to a world call _Radiant Garden_. The king will be there and will explain everything to us."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Trevor said giving them a thumb up. "After all, your king has a lot to answer for; he's responsible for dragging me into this mess."

**KH-KH-KH**

Don Carnaģe was walking tall when he strutted into Naraku's camber. Not only did he destroy the useless keyblader, but he also looted two worlds along the way. "Hold your applause please. Yes, I know that I am fabulous." No one in the room was applauding and no one was calling his works fabulous. The coyote pirate picked up on this and wonders why no one was singing him praises. "Well, don't you all be thanking me at once," Don Carnaģe said sarcastically.

"You miserable little dog-rodent! Do you have any idea what you have done?!!!" the burly man wearing a purple uniform and a dragon's skull on this head.

"Well, I don't know, Huntsmaster," Don Carnaģe said in his strange accent. "What I have done is that I did away with the keyblader."

"You did away with our cover, you fool!" Negaduck shouted.

The pirate captain looked befuddled for a minute, but laughs and slapped his knee. "You had 'ol Don Carnaģe going there for a second. We all know you are jealous of me and my works, Negaduck. There is no need to hide it."

This got the masked duck infuriated. "You insignificant little worm!!! You dare entertain the thought that I am jealous of a mere thief?!!! I ought to-"

Naraku raised his hand silencing Negaduck and everyone else in the room. "Don Carnaģe," the demon said in his monotone, cold voice. "What do pirates do?"

Don Carnaģe almost wet his pants. "Uh…that is… we, uh, loot and pillage," he said in a tone very much like a small child knowing he was going to be punished.

"When you contact the keyblader's ship you didn't loot or pillage it."

"No…no I guess not," Don Carnaģe said not sure where this was going. "But what does it matter now? He's deader than a doorknob, no?"

"The keyblader and his friends are very much alive and well. They live to fight another day." Don Carnaģe's eyes widen, he couldn't believed that he had failed. "You announced to them that you are a pirate, one that controls a legion of heartless piloted gummi ships, and you destroyed their ship without raiding it. Did you think for a second that if they would somehow survive that they would know that you weren't interested with their loot, but more interested in killing them?"

"Well…uh…."

"That they would figure out that you are one of the people responsible for the heartless outbreak since you control a legion of them?"

"I-It kinda slipped my mind…"

"We can't afford weak links in our plans to take Kingdom Hearts, Don Carnaģe. I'm afraid your assistance is no longer reacquired." With a snap of his hand, Don Carnaģe burst into dark flame and was teleported back to his world.

"Finally," Light Yagami said. "He was useless anyway; a third wheel. However, it is a shame that Norrington didn't give us Davy Jones' heart. The legendary captain of the sea could have been a powerful ally."

"Indeed," Naraku said tapping his fingers on the table, thinking of something else. "Negaduck, I have a job for you."

"What am I, your lapdog?" the oddly dressed duck spat.

Naraku's left arm then became a thorny vine and launched itself at Negaduck. It wrapped itself around the duck's neck and let him dangle in the air. "As you can see," Naraku said without changing his voice or tone, "I'm not in a good mood right now. In fact, I'm never in a good mood. So when I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal…" the masked duck choked.

The demon let the poor duck go and returned his own arm back to normal. "Good, glad to hear it. As we all know, there are more entities playing in this galactic chess game other than ourselves and the keybladers. Negaduck, I want you to: find out who are these other entities, what do they want, where they are located, destroy them, and report back to me."

"You're the boss," Negaduck hissed between his teeth before opening up a portal and stepped into the darkness that lay before him.

**Next Chapter: And Lazlo was his Name-O!**

**P.J.'s Blog Updated!**

Cynthia (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

Bootstrap Bill(William Turner Sr.): Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest(2006)

Lord Beckett: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest(2006)

Tia Dalma: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest(2006)

Huntsmaster: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

**A/N: Man, was this a **_**long**_** chapter. Ever again will I have a chapter longer than seventeen or so pages. Please review and to all those how already did, THANK YOU!!!!**


	7. And Lazlo Was His NameO

**Sorry I couldn't update sooner. For so reason the website refuse to update this chapter and I am forced to retype this chapter. So without further delay Chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: And Lazlo Was His Name-O**

Trevor was sitting in the back of the cabin reflecting on all that has happen to him over the past couple of days. So far, he was shot at, almost was set on fire, forced into indenture service, and almost eaten alive by a gaint squid _twice_; needless to say he wasn't happy with his life. However, it was the future that worried him the most, especially what Tia Dalma prophesized about him. That he had a "sickness of the soul" and it would result in him becoming a monster. He can't help but wonder if this had anything to do with the young woman he keeps having visions about. _Who is she and what part does she play in all of this_, he can't help but wonder. He was also worried about these "mysterious organizations" who seem to be controlling the heartless. Did they sent that coyote to kill them? Were they the ones who gave Prince Zouko his power to control the heartless? Was that pirate, Luffy, one of them? So many questions filled his head and he was getting the feeling that only a few of them are going to get answered.

He was in the middle of his deep thoughts when Bonkers interrupted them. "Hey Trevor whatcha thinkin'?"

The keyblader almost jumped out of his skin when he saw that the bobcat's face was only a few centimeters from his own. "Nothing… and have you heard about personal space?"

"No, what's it about?" Bonkers asked innocently.

Trevor just pushed the bobcat away and join Miranda at the ship's controls. "How long before we reach this _Radiant Garden _world?"

Miranda pushed some buttons and brought up a display of a world. "We would be there sooner if we didn't have to make a pit stop. It turns out that Kairi was right, we do need to recharge the ship's fuel cells."

Trevor looked at the heavy wooded world for a second, "Perhaps it's for the best. Maybe we will get some answers from this world. And maybe I can find Vince. Eddie! What's the name for this world?"

The ship's main computer happily came to life and ran an analysis on the world. "This would be _Rustic Backwoods_, a scarcely populated world famous for their frozen chicken potpies!" Eddie chimed in. "The largest town is Prickly Pines located by the scenic Leaky Lake."

"This world is perfect," Miranda reasoned. "We could land this ship somewhere in the woods and nobody would find it."

"And," Trevor said as sat down in a chair, "We can look for Vince and the keyhole to this world while this ship is recharging. Take her down, Miranda."

"Uh, would it be 'take _him _down, Miranda' since the ship's computer name is Eddie and it uses a guy's voice?" Bonkers questioned.

"Uh…well…," stammered the keyblader. "…Whatever, take _it_ down, Miranda."

Rustic Backwoods was, in fact, a beautiful world. It was filled with pastoral trees giving the world a frontier look; like one was in the days of the pioneers. Trevor and Miranda would have appreciated its beauty if they weren't turn into animals. "Trevor don't look now," Miranda said shocked, "but, I think you transformed into a fox!"

Trevor felt his face and discovers that he now have a snout instead of a nose. The now fox keyblader turned and looked at the cop wide-eyed, "Miranda, you're a Labrador Retriever!"

Miranda looked at her hands and saw that short yellow fur now covered them. "I'm a dog! How did this happened?"

"Miranda, Trevor," Bonkers said in horror, "I think I transformed into a bobcat!"

"Bonkers, you were always a bobcat," Miranda said flatly.

"Oh yeah…," Bonkers realized.

"Okay, don't panic," Trevor said trying to stay calm. "There must be a logical explanation for this."

"How about to protect the world order," Bonkers said matter-of-factly.

"What do you mean, Bonkers?" Miranda inquired.

"You remembered the letter that the king sent us? It states that on some worlds our forms will change to match the world's environment."

"Yes, now I remember. So this means that this world doesn't have any humans in it."

"It must be populated with anthropomorphic animals," deduced Trevor. "That would explain why only me and you transformed and Bonkers didn't."

"So what do we do now?"

"We search for the keyhole to this world and try to look for my friend."

After three hours of searching Trevor, Miranda, and Bonker discovered nothing, but more forest. The long hike was taking its toll on the outworlders.

"Are we there yet?" the Bonkers complained.

"No," Trevor said sick of Bonkers.

"Are we there yet?" the bobcat continued.

"Bonkers, we don't even know where we are going," snapped Miranda.

"True, but I would like to know if we're there yet."

Both Trevor and Miranda rubbed their temples, Bonkers wasn't making the search any easier.

Just then, they heard a shriek, all three of them rushed to the source of the sound. They arrived at a clearing and found a dozen of heartless attacking a little girl. The heartless were shaped like overstuffed teddy bears poorly stitch together with different pieces of purple and black cloth, their claws were box cutters, and their teeth were sewing needles. At first glance it looked like they were ganging up on a defenseless girl, but at second glance she was fighting back. She was using a series of martial arts moves on the heartless, K. them with each hit.

Trevor and Miranda entered the battle by killing two heartless with one sweep. Bonkers backed them up by casting Thundaga wiping out five more heartless. The remaining heartless shifted their attention from the girl to the three interlopers. The remaining five heartless unleashed a devastating claw attack on the three outworlders.

"Damn," Trevor coughed as he cast curaga on all party members. "What are these things, some kind of psycho teddy bears?"

Just as the psycho teddies was closing in for the kill, the girl grabbed one of them by the head and hurl it to the heartless next to it. While the heartless were distracted, Trevor and Miranda nodded to each other. They both launched forward, and with perfect symmetry, attacked the creatures of darkness. First they unleashed a fury of combos destroying two heartless, then Miranda knocked the last one in the air and then launch Trevor after it. Trevor finally unleashed a series of aerial combos before sending the abomination crashing to the ground with a devastating downward slash.

When the heartless dissipated, the little girl turned to them not letting her defenses down. "Who are you guys? Don't take another step forward! I know kung fu!" The three looked at the girl, they were shocked to see that she was only ten years old and was already defending herself. She was a mongoose of some kind with pink hair, and the way she dressed would suggest that she was in the girl scouts.

"Relax," Miranda said dropping to one knee to show her that they mean no harm. "We're here to put a stop to the heartless."

The mongoose girl cocked her head to the side, "Heartless?"

"The things that attacked you," said Trevor. "We're on a mission to stop them."

"So that's what they are called," she said in thought. "I think I can help you, but first you got to help me." The three looked at each other, unsure whether if the mongoose is thinking clearly or that they don't understand the gravity of the situation. "You see, my friend's summer camp was shut down recently. Since then, those thing, what you called heartless, have been popping up everywhere."

"Do you think there could be a link?" Bonkers inquired.

"I don't know," Trevor admitted. "There could be,… doesn't hurt to investigate." The keyblader then turned and smiled at the mongoose," By the way, I'm Trevor, this is Miranda, and that's Bonkers."

"Pasty Smiles," the girl curtsied. "But we don't have time for introductions! We got to find my friend Lazlo!"

"Lazlo?"

"He's the one I've been telling you about. He and his two best friends are on a journey to find a way to save their camp."

"Well, we can't allow a couple of ten year-olds to wander in the woods alone," Miranda stated.

"Then it's settled then," Trevor said resting his keyblade on his shoulders. "We will find your friend Lazlo and save this camp of yours."

"You mean Camp Kidney," Patsy said as if she was offended. "My friend may go to that camp and it may have been shut down, but it is no camp of mine. Do you honestly think that a squirrel scout would be caught dead in a stink hole like Camp Kidney? Ha!!!"

"I don't understand. I thought you want to save this camp."

"I do want to save this camp, for my friend, Lazlo. You see I…," she caught herself before she could say anything else. "Time to go. We wasted enough time talking." The three travelers just shrugged and followed the mongoose girl.

The four figures trudged on through the woods silently complaining with each step. Trevor was extra careful not to curse under his breath since there was a child in his presence. Instead, he would quietly mouth euphemisms to remind himself of the situation he is in; wandering around in an unknown woodland, all hot, sweaty, and tired with blisters on his feet. Miranda wasn't fairing any better, she pulled out several leaves from the surrounding trees and made a makeshift fan to cool herself with. The only people who aren't complaining were Bonkers and Patsy, both of them clearly use to having fur on their bodies.

"How can animals survive in the summer with all this fur on?!" Trevor yelled tired and exhausted.

"The sad part is that it's probably only 78º, but with this fur it feels like 108!" Miranda panted.

"Ah, you get use to it," Bonkers trying to comfort them both. "All you have to do is spend time with your newfound fur."

"The only thing I want to spend some quality time with is a newfound air-condition," Trevor remarked.

"Oh my goodness, look!!!!" Patsy yelled as she peeked over a bush. The three travelers came over and looked to where Patsy was pointing at. They saw a spider monkey, an Indian elephant, and an albino pygmy rhino surrounded by the psycho teddy heartless. All three of them were wearing matching scout uniforms: black pant, brown shirt, red neckerchiefs, and a cap that matches the color of their shirt with a blue stripe on it. Unfortunately for the three young boys, they were on a logging shoot that was placed over a deep gorge. The boys were careful not to fall off as the heartless closed in on them.

"Holy Krishna!!" the young Indian elephant yelled. "These t-t-things are back!!!" He then picked up the small rhino boy by the feet and started swinging he around like a sword, trying to get the heartless to step back. "Back! Back I say!!"

"Calm down Raj," the ten year-old spider monkey said calmly. "There is no need to panic. Maybe we can reason with them." He turned to the heartless, but the entire world. "Come here little guy, let's be friends!" The heartless answered this by shredding his shirt with its box cutter claws. "Okay, now is the time to panic. Somebody, HELP!!!!!"

Suddenly, there was a flash as a giant key boomeranged destroying the heartless in front of the monkey and returned to its owner. In a flash of blonde and brown fur, Miranda and Patsy leapt over to the other side of the gorge and started attacking the other heartless. Bonkers cast Shell and Aero on the three young boys to protect them. Trevor rushed the remaining heartless and unleashed a series of onslaught moves destroying all of the foul creatures.

The keyblader stood by panting, "Are you boys all right?"

Before anyone could say anything, Patsy tackled the orange monkey and gave him a huge bear hug. "Lazlo!!!! I'm glad that you're safe!!!" The pink-haired mongoose then realized what she was doing and let go of the monkey and regain her composure. "I mean…it's good to see that you are well." She then punched the ten year-old monkey hard on the shoulder causing him to rubbed it afterwards.

"It's great to see you too, Patsy," Lazlo cheerfully smiled, glad to see a familiar face. "But what are you doing here? The woods is not a safe place for kids, specially nowadays."

The girl huffed, "Speak for yourself! I came out here, because I knew you and your friends will need all the help you can get." She then gestured to Trevor and his companions. "And these three agreed to help us reopen Camp Kidney."

"And just who are they exactly?" the boy elephant said as he crossed his arms and raised a mistrustful eye.

"Very suspicious," the tiny, pale rhino added in a dull monotone.

"Well, I'm Trevor," the keyblader introduced himself, "and that's Bonkers and Miranda."

"Well, my name is Lazlo," introduced the Brazilian spider monkey. He then pointed to the elephant, "This is Raj." Finally, he gestured to the diminutive rhino, "And this is Clam."

"Well, Lazlo," Miranda inquired, "could you tell us why your summer camp shut down and how are you going to bring it back?"

"Well, me and my fellow bean scouts were on our way to our glorious Camp Kidney," Lazlo mussed.

"There's nothing _glorious_ about it," Raj said under his breath.

"Major dump," Clam added.

Lazlo continue un-phased, "And when we got there, we found a lot of workers tearing down the camp, saying it was just a hand-me-down camp that should have been closed a long time ago."

"And to add insult to injury, they sent us bean scouts to the squirrel scout camp!" Raj said through his teeth.

"You make it sound like some sort of punishment," Patsy said insulted as she tossed back her hair. "We squirrel scouts treated you with nothing but kindness!"

"Your den mother put us in a holding pen," hissed the elephant.

"Refugees," chimed in Clam.

"Anyway," Lazlo continued, "I had a dream last night, where a giant bean raised himself out of Leaky Lake to tell me that the only way to save Camp Kidney was to go to the Bean Scout Jamboree and seek the Big Bean."

"Whoa," interrupted Trevor. "Let me get this straight. You dreamt that a giant bean gave you directions to save your summer camp? Don't you think that's a little weird?"

"What's so weird about it? I dream of giant beans all the time," Bonkers said casually. Everyone stared at Bonkers oddly for a moment, but the bobcat failed to notice.

Lazlo just shook his head, there was no way some strangers where going to tell him that he is crazy. He knew in his heart that the big bean wasn't just some figment of his overactive imagination, he was going to save Camp Kidney with their help or not. "I believe in my dream…and my heart. So I'm going to the Jamboree to find a way to save my camp. Especially if it help stop the heartless."

"That's why we came here," said Trevor, "to stop the heartless. Look, maybe your dream sounds crazy, but if it helps us stop the heartless I'm willing to follow a crazy dream any day of the week."

Lazlo gave him a big grin, "Okay, everyone!! We are off to the Bean Scouts Jamboree!!" Lazlo's friends gave a joyous cry in agreement. To further emphasize Lazlo's point Clam repeated "Jamboree" much to everyone's amusement.

"So where do we go from here?" queried Miranda.

"First we find the Rock of Hop. There the location of the Jamboree will be revealed," Lazlo said if newfound determination.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!!" Bonkers yelled as they headed deeper in the woods.

In the distance, sitting high in the trees, a cloaked figure was watching the Lazlo and the others. The figure pulled back his blue hood to reveal himself to be a steer. The fat, green-haired bull pulled out a bag of pasture puffs and started eating. "Man, almost had him," the bovine ranted with his mouth full of food. "If that keyblade guy didn't show up, I would had that monkey's heart for sure."

"Keybladers are annoying, aren't they?" The steer turned around and saw a duck, dressed in yellow and black, standing on a branch of another tree. "They always seem to get in the way."

The bovine stood on the branch to face the strange duck, "And just who are you exactly?"

"Funny, I was about to asked you the same thing," retorted the masked duck. "Negaduck the name and destruction is my game. And now that I've introduced myself and my purpose, why don't you do the same." He then pulled a giant chainsaw from his back, "And start talking before I have to use this, you fat cow."

"_Steer_," the bovine angrily corrected him. "And my name is of no consequent to you, and just in case if it is, the name's Heffer Wolfe."

"And what are you doing on this world," Negaduck asked as he revved up the chainsaw. "Who do you work for and why do you need a monkey's heart?"

Heffer pulled out his weapon, which happen to be a giant club with spikes all over it. "I don't have to tell you anything," Heffer snorted.

"Aww," Negaduck said faking that he was hurt, "You're not even going to tell me who you work for?"

"I am one of many," the bovine said as he raised his club.

"Wrong answer!!" Negaduck launched himself at Heffer ready to cut him in half with the chainsaw. Heffer blocked the chainsaw with his club and sent Negaduck crashing into the tress. Negaduck winced from the pain of the impact and when he opened his eyes again Heffer was long gone. The masked duck silently cursed under his breath. He must get some answer for Naraku and soon, or else the demon will have his head on a silver platter.

After several more miles of wandering in the woods, everyone was wondering if this was a good idea to rely on a monkey's dream to point them in the right direction. The person who expressed the most concern was none other then Raj. "What if this rock doesn't exist, Lazlo?" Raj said angrily. "Then what? I thought we were going to find it on the other side of the gorge. Well, where is it, Lazlo? Where is it?!"

"I don't know about you," said Trevor looking at a sign. "But the sign says it's right over there."

"Exactly," Raj continued ranting without missing a beat. "The sign say it's right over there-what?"

"Trevor, you did it!" Lazlo rejoiced. "You found it! It just like in my…" Everyone then looked where the rock was supposed to be and only found a huge pile of pebbles and sand. "dream…?" Lazlo said weakly.

"Are you sure your dream didn't say 'Pebble of Hope?' Because I don't think we are going to find a rock here," Raj lamented. Lazlo hung his head down and sighed heavily; no one has ever seen the Brazilian spider monkey this low before. Raj cringed, regretting everything he had said. "I'm sorry Lazlo. I didn't mean…"

"No, I'm sorry," interrupted Lazlo. "I shouldn't have put our lives in danger. I just wanted to save Camp Kidney so badly. I thought there would be hope."

"Hope!" echoed Clam.

"Clam, you don't have to rub it in!" Raj said.

"No, you guys have to see this!" Miranda said on top of the pile with Clam.

The tiny rhino jumped up and down excitingly, "Lots of hop!!!"

Everyone climbed on the pile and found a plaque on top of it. "Lose Gravel of Hope," Patsy read, "Formerly the 'Rock of Hope.'" Everyone gasped; the rock of hope was here, Lazlo's dream wasn't a product of his wild imagination, but a guide to save their beloved camp and, maybe, their world.

"Look!" Lazlo pointed over the horizon. There in all its glory, was the fabled Bean Scouts Jamboree. The gathering of boy scouts shimmered like a jewel in the sun. "Come on guys," Lazlo said with renewed vigor, "Let's save Camp Kidney!"

No sooner had Lazlo said that, he slip on some gravel and slid along the edge of the cliff taking the gravel and the others with him. They came to a complete stop at the gates of the jamboree, all of them looking with awe at the giant wooden enclosure that kept outsiders out of the boy scout gathering.

"How do we get in?" wondered Trevor.

"Maybe there's a password or something," Patsy wondered out loud.

"Only one way to find out," said Lazlo. He walked up to the gate and started knocking. "Hello?! Is anybody in there?!!"

A slit on the gate opened and a pair of eyestalks came shooting out staring at all of the travelers intensely. "What?! What do you want?!" it spoke in a French accent. "Who is it?!!"

"Uh, yeah, hi," Lazlo said a little flustered. "We're bean scouts from Camp Kidney…"

"Camp Kidney?" the French eyestalks interrupted. "I never _heard_ of Camp Kidney! And look at you! All of you uniforms are filthy! They must be handed down since Napoleon!! And what about you three?" It pointed to Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers. "Aren't you three a little old to be in the bean scouts?"

Thinking quickly, Trevor came up with a good excuse. "We're their chaperones."

"I see…" the eyestalks eyed the three of them suspiciously. "No matter, this jamboree is for official bean scouts _only_! Now go away!!!" And with that, it shut the door slit. Angry, Lazlo began knocking on the gate again. The door slit reopened and once again the angry eyestalks pop out. "Listen you, I just looked at the registry and your camp has been closed!"

"That's the reason why we are here," Trevor spat coming more angry with the rude eyestalks by the second. "We demand to see this Big Bean character so he can reopen Camp Kidney!"

"Ohhh, the Big Bean," laughed the eyestalks in its annoying French accent. "No one see the Big Bean, especially dirty, fake hand-me-down scouts like you!!" Its eyes then focused on Patsy. "Hey!! What's with the pink hair and skirt?!" it pointed wildly.

"She's from France," Clam quickly lied.

"From France?! I'm from France!!!!" the eyestalks then looked around to see if the close was clear. "Okay, all of you, come in quickly, but touch anything!" The gates then opened then opened revealing that the pair of eyestalks belong to a snail wearing the same uniform as Patsy on a unicycle. Inside the jamboree, bean scouts from all over the world march wearing new uniforms that made the ones from Camp Kidney look like old rags. "Quick, come with me," the snail said as if time was running out. "I will help you get to the Big Bean."

All of them marveled at the different sights; never before they seen so many well prepared scouts. There was numerous tent set up to test the scout's skills in various competitions. Before they can take it all in, the French snail stopped them. "Okay travelers, this is where I must take my leave of you. The Big Bean place lays on the top of these stairs. Good luck," he said as he rode out on his unicycle.

"Thank you, mister snooty snail," Lazlo waved not knowing what he said was rude.

"Bye eyestalks!" Clam added.

All of the weary adventurers traveled up the stairs that lay before them. When they reached the top, they discovered that the palace was really a giant can of beans. "Well I guess living in a giant can is fitting for a giant bean," remarked Trevor.

"Still," Patsy added, "it's quite fancy."

"Grade A, fancy!" chimed in Clam.

They entered the bean can palace and went down a long corridor. At the end of it, they saw what(or perhaps we should say who) they were looking for. Behind a think layer of glass was a giant, floating bean; the Big Bean himself!

"Mister Big Bean?" Lazlo said cautiously. "Remember me, Lazlo?" The Big Bean did not respond or gave any indication that he heard the spider monkey.

"I don't think he can hear you behind that thick glass," thought Patsy.

"Do you think he could be suffocating behind the glass?" asked Raj worriedly.

"Out of the way!" Trevor yelled as he summoned his keyblade. When everyone was at a safe distance, he pulled back his keyblade and swung it hard against the glass, shattering it to pieces.

"Mister Big Bean? Are you okay?" Lazlo said as he entered the chamber. Upon closer inspection they all discovered that the Big Bean was really…tiny. "Hey…he's just a little big bean!"

Miranda bent over the pieces of broken glass and picked up a fragment. After studying it for a second, she knew how a little bean could appear huge. "It was magnifying glass. He was probably using it to make himself look bigger."

Suddenly, the 'big' bean spoke and he was not happy about the broken glass. "Holy Connolly!! What happen to my window!!!! Listen, I don't know how you vandals got in here, but I suggest you turn yourselves back around before you break something else!"

Lazlo, however, wasn't inflicted nor noticed the bean's attitude toward them. "Mister Big Bean, sir. Let me say that it's an honor to meet you; outside of my dreams this is. Hey, you're much smaller in person. But when you came out of the lake, and told me to find the Rock of Hope-"

"Wait a minute," the Big Bean interrupted. "That was my cousin!!"

"What? Cousin?" Lazlo said weakly.

"Yeah, my cousin Clyde. He hangs out in mountain lakes scaring campers and I started the bean scouts."

"Does this mean you are not going to save Camp Kidney?"

"Camp Kidney? Why would I-wait a minute, there was something around here about Camp Kidney that made me very happy." For a moment, everyone hold on to the small shiver of hope they had left. "Oh yeah, this piece of paper stating that I shut it down!"

That piece of hope shattered like the broken glass behind them. All of their hearts sank, including Lazlo's. "Shut it down?" he said in disbelief. "But why?"

"Because it was a dump, that's why. A hand-me-down camp with misfit scouts wearing dirty hand-me-down uniforms." The bean tossed the camp's closing notice at the scout. "Man, I'm sure glad that cow told me shut down that miserable camp."

"Cow? What cow?" Clam asked in confusion.

"_STEER!!!!!!_" a voice echoed in the chamber. Then a cloaked figure dropped like a sack of potatoes right between Lazlo and the Big Bean. Trevor quickly pulled the monkey and readied his weapon. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bonkers and Miranda doing the same thing with the other children; they have an idea what a person in a blue cloak means, and it's nothing good. The mysterious figure stood up and discard his navy blue cloak, showing himself to be a yellow bovine with red overalls and green hair. The steer pulled out a huge spiked club and rested it on his shoulder. "Heffer's the name and I have come to take Lazlo's heart."

"But why?" Trevor asked. "Why steal a ten year-old's heart?

"Because it holds the key to resurrect the original world and destroying this false one."

"Original world? False world? Are you with Naraku? Luffy?"

The steer smirked, "I don't know who or what a Naraku is, but Luffy was a comrade of mine. All of us in our organization are trying to bring back our home worlds lost in the dark. But people like you stand in our way! The monkey must diee!"

"He's just a boy!!" Trevor yelled in disgust.

"He's just a mere facsimile!!! A poor imitation of my buddy Rocko!!! So I persuaded the Big Bean to closed down the camp, knowing the monkey would be foolish enough to looked for a way to save it. The plan was to have him alone in the woods and have the heartless take care him, but then you have to intervened."

The keyblader gritted his teeth, "You sick son of a-"

"It's not fair!!!!!" Heffer screamed as if he was losing control over his emotions. "THIS IS MY WORLD AND I'M GOING TO TAKE IT BACK!!!!! THAT'S WHY I JOINED THE FORSOKEND, TO BRING BACK ALL THAT I HOLD DEAR!!!!!" He slammed his club on the ground so hard, the earth shook for a moment.

As Trevor tried to regain his balance he saw the bovine come for him. He tried to block the attack, but was a second too late. The club connected with him and sent him flying to the adjacent wall. He sharply sucked in air and through his, now blurry vision, he see that everyone had join the fight. Lazlo and Raj pulled out slingshots and started firing shots at Heffer. While Clam and Patsy was attempting to fight the steer with their bare hands.

Miranda manage to successfully evade and block Heffer's attacks and get some strikes in, but the portly bovine was always ready for more. He did a downward swept which caught Miranda off guard and knocked her off her feet. Bonkers tried to provide backup with a fury of thunder spells, but the massive club absorbed each and every one. With Miranda temporarily vulnerable, Heffer brought down the club to finish her off. Trevor tried to run over and save her, but he knew he would be too late.

Before the club was two feet away from the blonde swordswoman's face, it stopped. To everyone's amazement, Clam stopped the club from hitting Miranda with his bare left hand. There was no stain on the rhino's face or any dictation that he had been hurt; just fierce determination and sheer willpower.

"But how?!" said a surprised Heffer. "How did you stop my attack? What kind of power do you have?!!!"

Clam just said three words, "Very. Bad. Cow!" The very tiny rhino took the club from the bovine and hurled it back to him sending Heffer flying to a wall.

"Miranda, are you alright?" Trevor said with concern.

"I'm fine," she said as she picked herself up. "But I do think I'm getting too old for this."

"You think you won, don't you?" Heffer said painfully as he picked up his spiked club. "But the battle is far from over!" He pushed a hidden button on the club and the spikes shot out like projectiles at the keyblader. One spike went through his left leg and another through his right shoulder. As Trevor collapsed coughing on the floor, Heffer fired more projectiles to scatter the others and to prevent them from helping the injured keyblader.

Seeing his opportunity, Heffer rushed over to finished the keyblader. Trevor managed to stagger to his feet, but the moment he stood up, his muscles locked and he couldn't move. He saw Heffer coming at him, but he couldn't do anything about it: couldn't move, couldn't block, and definitely couldn't run. _Move, dammit MOVE!!_ he thought trying to will his body to budge. _If only I could move my arm so I can block the attack! If only my arm could move!!_

_Don't worry_, said a voice in the deepest regions of his heart, _It will…_

As Heffer brought down the club, his arm moved on its own and blocked the attack with the keyblade. But the thing is, it wasn't his keyblade. This keyblade was black and was in the shape of a battle axe. _This keyblade_, Trevor thought in shock, _I seen this keyblade before! _His body began to move on its own and began to attack Heffer with unimaginable strength. It was as if he was possessed, as if another entity was playing puppet master. His body plunged Heffer into the air, then jumped up and brought the steer crashing down to earth. As Heffer laid on the ground grasping for air, Trevor unwilling raised the new keyblade in the air. "Now, it's time to feast," his mouth said without his control, "on your heart and soul!!"

Before the keyblade could pierce Heffer's heart, another voice inside his heart stop him. _Don't make him do it!_ the other voice pleaded, _Trevor is not a killer!!!_ And with that, Trevor regain control of his body and dropped his keyblade on the ground. He looked at it for a second as it transformed back into his normal keyblade. _What happened to me_, he thought wildly, _what was controlling me?!_

He looked back at Heffer who was worst for wear. Heaving his lungs just to breathe; the steer won't last very long. Everybody gathered around the bovine cautiously, in case he decided to attack again. Bonkers quickly cast a curaga spell over Trevor to heal most of his major wounds.

"Why…," Trevor began almost choking on his word, "What compelled you to do all of those things?" Heffer just glazed on ahead with a glassy look in his eyes as if he hadn't heard the keyblader. Trevor became furious and started shaking the steer, "WHY DID YOU DO IT?!! YOU SAID YOU WERE PART OF A GROUP, THE FORSAKEN!!!!!! WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO DO?!!!!"

A sorrowful look spread across Heffer's face as if he was regretting something in his life. "I'm sorry Rocko and Filbert…I couldn't bring you guys back…I couldn't bring anyone back…" His body then slowly dissipated in a wisp of gray smoke.

Trevor clinched his fists angrily and thoroughly exhausted. Miranda put a supporting hand on his shoulder, knowing how badly Trevor wanted answers.

"Well, thank goodness that is over with," sniffed the Big Bean.

"Do you even care?!" Trevor got up a yelled at the bean. "One of your campers almost got killed, because of your decision to shut down the camp."

"Like I car," the bean huffed. "That cow might have been crazy, but he had the right idea about shutting down Camp Kidney. Now all of you go home, I have work to do."

"But we believed in you," Lazlo weakly said as if he was going to cry.

"It will be okay Lazlo," Patsy said trying to comfort the monkey.

"Obviously, he isn't going to do the right thing," Miranda sniffed. "We might as well leave."

"Mean bean!" Clam yelled.

Everyone got up and started heading for the exit expect for Raj. He was glued to the spot with tears in his eyes. "I cannot leave…," Raj cried. "Lazlo! Everyone, my tears are blinding me!!"

Lazlo came back and handed Raj his bean scout neckerchief to dry his tears with. "There, use my neckerchief, pal. I won't need it anymore."

The elephant took the cloth and wiped his eyes. When he was finish he notice some writing on the piece of cloth. "Lazlo, there is something written on the inside of your neckerchief."

"Oh yeah," he sadly remember. "That was there when I first got it. _'Let me take to my heart, Camp Kidney; a wonderland where summer runs free. Where I laugh and I play while my good parents pay, to let their child come to age and be me.'_"

Everyone ponder the meaning of the poem written on the neckerchief before Raj burst out laughing. "Who wrote that hokey baloney?"

In the corner the Big Bean sniff, eyes filled with sentential tears. "I did," he confessed

"You?!" Lazlo said shocked.

"You mean, you had a heart once," Trevor sarcastically spat. "Are you saying you went to Camp Kidney, the very camp you shut down?"

"Uh-huh," the bean said weakly. He turned to Lazlo, "But were did you find my old neckerchief?"

"Oh, this? It was a hand-me-down," confessed Lazlo. Nearly everything at the place formerly known as Camp Kidney was a hand-me-down.

"If you really went to Camp Kidney," asked Bonkers, "then why you turned your back on your old camp?"

"After I built bigger and better camps, I grew ashamed about humble 'ol Camp Kidney. And now I'm ashamed again!"

Lazlo thought about it for a minute and gave the neckerchief back to its original owner. "Here, this belongs to you."

"For me?" the Big Bean said overjoyed. "You mean I can have it?!" Everybody saluted him. Needless to say, the Big Bean was too touch for words. "I don't know what to say…"

"How about 'I'm sorry?'" Trevor said with crossed arms.

"I know, I know…I'm very sorry. I should have never listened to that cow. I should have never been ashamed of where I came from." The Big Bean then looked at each and every one of them straight in the eye. "And that's why I decided to reopen Camp Kidney."

"I will?!" Lazlo asked hopefully, eyes near to tears.

"Of course I will," promised the Big Bean. "We better hurry, we have a lot to do if we went to reopen Camp Kidney by sundown!"

High above the chamber, looking down at the events below him, Negaduck sat and watch patiently. He saw everything: the confrontation, Heffer's rant, the fight, Trevor's mysterious 'power burst,' Heffer's defeat, and now this ooey-gooey love fest. It was enough to make him puke. Nevertheless, he had the information he was looking for; well…most of it. _It would have to do_, he thought, _Naraku would be expecting a report soon._ And with that, he stepped into a portal of darkness.

By the end of the day, Camp Kidney was reopened and all of the scouts were able to return. There was a huge celebration by the campfire near the middle of the camp, hosted by the Big Bean himself no less. "As head of all the bean scouts, it is my pleasure to reopen Camp Kidney!!" Everyone cheered glad to see their camp back on the map. "And to honor the bravely of these three bean scouts, this squirrel scout, and these three travelers!" He gave Lazlo a piece of clothe, "For you Lazlo, a new neckerchief."

Lazlo thankfully accepted the gift, but on closer inspection it read _'property of HMD.'_ "Who's HMD?" Lazlo asked.

"Why, it's Hand-Me-Down," the Big Bean said jokingly. Everybody got a laugh out of that before the Big Bean turned his attention to Trevor and the others. "If there's anything we can do to repay you…"

"Actually there is something," Trevor interrupted. "We are looking for a friend of mine. His name is Vince, have you seen him?"

The Big Bean thought about it for a minute, "No, that's okay. I guess we just have to keep looking."

The Big Bean undid his neckerchief and help it up, "I never forget what you all done for me. I will always treasure this neckerchief not only to remind me of Camp Kidney, but also the gift of friendship you have brought me."

Suddenly, the neckerchief started glowing and the keyblade appeared in Trevor's hand. He was once again transported the place of endless clouds as the neckerchief transformed into a giant keyhole. He raised the keyblade slowly and locked the world.

"Holy Connolly! What was that?!" the Big Bean said when it was all over.

"This world has been locked," Trevor stated, "And the heartless won't bother you anymore." Everyone cheered when they hear that; no longer would they have to live in fear of the heartless. "Well, we have to go now; other places to see, other people to meet."

"Wait!!!" Lazlo stopped them. "I have something for you. It's a model of the totem pole I made a while back."

Lazlo deposit a tiny totem pole into Trevor's hand. On closer inspection, the totem pole had various creatures on it including: a monkey, rhino, and elephant, a rabbit, and a gnome. "A totem pole charm, huh? Thanks Lazlo, I will treasure it."

"I'm feeling the love in here," Bonkers said weepy.

"Sentimental moment," Clam agreed.

"Come on everybody!" the Big Bean yelled. "One more time for Camp Kidney!!!" With that, everyone cheered like they never cheered before to celebrate the return of a camp that is like no other.

**KH-KH-KH**

Negaduck entered Naraku's chambers practically walking on eggshells. Every villain in the inter-circle was still there, and this time they were staring at an image of Sora, Riku, and Kairi talking to Leon and Aerith. They quickly diverted their attention from the images on the table to him. "So," Naraku began, "What do you have to report?"

"First of all, the name of the other organization is called the Forsaken. They appear to be a group of nut jobs that plans to 'resurrect' worlds. If they are anything like this Luffy character and the nutcase that I tracked down, they all wear blue capes."

"Resurrecting worlds?" Light asked doubtfully.

"Ask them, not me!" Negaduck snapped. "Oh yeah, it seem that they only target one person per world. Believing that the person's very existence is a threat to their plans."

"Is that all you uncovered?" Naraku asked flatly.

"Pretty much," stated Negaduck, silently hoping that the demon won't cut off his head.

The demon thought about the situation for a moment, "At first glance this group appears to be a threat…however they could prove quite useful. They will be a good distraction for the keybladers while we work in the dark."

"I see…," Light said coming to a realization. "We will use them as a smoke screen; a scapegoat if you will."

"Precisely," Naraku said half-smiling.

**Next Chapter: His Majesty and the Man Known as Leon**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

Patsy Smiles: Camp Lazlo(2005)

Lazlo: Camp Lazlo(2005)

Raj: Camp Lazlo(2005)

Clam: Camp Lazlo(2005)

The Big Bean: Camp Lazlo(2005)

Heffer Wolfe: Rocko's Modern Life(1993)


	8. His Majesty and a Man Named Leon

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: His Majesty and the Man Known as Leon**

Light Yagami walked out of Naraku's lair calculating his next move. He was not expecting another group of entities vying for control of Kingdom Hearts and was force to alter his plans. As the young man decides his next course of action, an ever-watching spirit hovered close to him. The spirit in question was, in fact, a shinigami.

A god of death.

The shinigami floated above the ground without beating its black crow-like wings. Its yellow, never blinking eyes was focus on the young man, eagerly waiting see what he would do next. It knew that Light, the current keeper of his Death Note, was planning something _big_; one does not go from self-gloried vigilante to becoming part of the criminal underworld overnight.

Finally, the suspense was killing the god of death and he just had to ask, "Light, why are you associating yourself with these criminals? I thought you dedicated your life to kill criminals like them. Don't tell me you gave all of that up."

Light stopped in his tracks, he looked around to make sure the close was clear. He did not want anyone to hear what he was about to say or catch him talking to himself, after all, he is the only person who can see the shinigami. "Of course not Ryuk," the brown hair young man said softly. "Every minute I spend with those vermin, those dregs of society, I feel myself becoming sicker. I long for the day I can write their names in the Death Note and be done with them."

Now Ryuk was confused. Why didn't Light use the notebook on Naraku or the others? "I see… So I take it, you are using them."

A sly grin slowly spread on Light's face. Ryuk hit the nail on the head. "Of course I'm using them, that's the only reason why they are still alive. And through them, I will achieve my ultimate goal."

Ryuk knew what's Light's goal was, to become god of the new world. Ever since Light picked up the Death Note he dropped in the realm of the living, he has been a source of constant entertainment for the shinigami. Watching Light use the notebook to murder criminals to create a better world was the most fun the god of death had in years. But something was amiss. "How is hanging around with a bunch of criminals will help you become a god?"

"I'm glad you asked," Light said brushing back his hair. "As you know I want to become the god of the new world. To rule a world with no crime, hatred, or malice. However, I'm only human and the Death Note can only take me so far. As a mortal, my time in this world is limited so I cannot rule the world for eternity. So when I die the world that I created would just go back into chaos.

"However, if I had the infinite power of Kingdom Hearts, I will not only become the god of my world, but the entire universe! That's why I join Naraku and his inter-circle. The moment we gain ownership of Kingdom Hearts, I will write his and the other members' names in the Death Note and take the heart of all worlds for myself!

"Naraku and the others are mere stepping stones. Once they outlive their usefulness, I will kill them all and become immortal with the power of Kingdom Hearts."

Ryuk grinned broadly; he never imagined a human could have such ambition. It looks like this mortal will entertain him for a long time to come.

**KH-KH-KH**

The Heart of Gold drifted silently through the inter-space sky; recharged and ready for another voyage. Trevor reclined in the captain's seat enjoying a moment's reprieve from the constant attacks from the heartless and the like. Miranda was busy typing away at her laptop, recording their adventures in her log. Occasionally, she would stop to take a slip of her coffee and silently proofread what she had written. Bonkers was entertaining himself by playing some handheld videogame; where he got that game, Trevor could only guess.

The massive computer screen suddenly turned on and displayed a world filled with buildings and a giant castle. The ship's computer, Eddie, buzzed to life ready to tell the crewmembers the news they all been waiting for. "Good news, gang! We finally arrived at _Radiant Garden_; formerly known as _Hollow Bastion_."

"Finally," Miranda said closing her laptop.

Trevor contained his excitement and anticipation; this world may have the answers he has been looking for. "Riku said if we come to this world, all will be answered," the keyblader said to the two cops. "Do you think that's true? Do you think this 'King Mickey' character will tell us what we want to know?"

"Sure," Bonkers said enthusiastically, "If I know King Mickey, and I do, he will tell us everything and then some!"

"Well, we won't know till we find out," Miranda said getting up.

"I wholeheartedly agree," Trevor nodding. "Eddie, take this ship down to the nearing docking station."

Cid Highwind was enjoying his morning napping at his gummi ship garage. His garage opened shop two weeks ago and already he was raking in the munny. He made so much munny that he hired a whole horde of moogles to do the actual work while he 'oversees' their progress. The blonde gummi ship grease monkey awoke with a start when the garage roof opened up. He quickly realized that it was just another ship coming in for some maintenance. When he saw the actual gummi ship, he was flabbergasted. _Damn, that's a big ship_, he thought; he had never seen or heard of a gummi ship that big before. As the ship landed, he smiled to himself, eager to work on this jewel of a ship with his own hands.

As Cid approached the ship, its hatchway opened and three figures poured out of it cautiously.

"Are you guys sure we are in the right place?" Miranda questioned looking at all the gummi ships and parts hanging in the huge garage. "Perhaps we should park somewhere else."

"That won't be necessarily ma'am," Cid said in his usual drawl. As the foreigners tried to size him up, Cid explained himself. "The name's Cid and I run this gummi ship garage. Sora told me all about you and your ship; never knew that it was this big though…"

"So you know Sora?" Trevor asked.

"Yeah, I know that spiky-haired little runt. Helped him upgrade his gummi ship too; all throughout his journeys."

"Well, we definitely need an upgrade," Miranda said looking at the Heart of Gold. "You see, we have no weapon system and-"

"YOU HAVE NO WEAPONS ON THIS SHIP?!!" Cid yelled causing everyone to jump back. "How on earth do you expect to protect yourself from enemy gummi ships?"

"Well… We were kind of shot out of the sky once…," Bonkers said embarrassedly.

"Damn kids," the mechanic snuffed. "Don't you know that inter-space ain't no playground?"

"Well, we know now," Trevor said awkwardly shifting his feet.

"Humph, well, seeing how this is y'all first time traveling between worlds, I'm going to let this one slide." Cid went over and slid his hand on the surface of the ship. "Beautiful ship, excellent design. I think I have the perfect weapon system for it, but it will take a while to install."

"That's fine, because we have to find Sora and this King Mickey," Trevor stated.

"They are at Merlin's house, in borough district of the town," Cid simply stated.

"You know where they are?" Bonkers said shocked.

"Of course I do," Cid sounding a bit insulted. "I would join you, but seeing here I have to install a weapon system…"

"Say no more," Trevor lifted his hands, not wanting another lecture from the blonde mechanic. "Where is Merlin's house?"

"Oh that's easy. Just exit the garage, go into the marketplace, go up the flight of stairs, and it will be first house on the right."

"Thanks gramps," Trevor called out as he, Miranda and Bonkers rushed out of the shop.

"The name's Cid, not gramps!" Cid yelled back, but to no avail. "Boy, they were in a hurry," he said to himself before starting his work on the Heart of Gold.

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers wandered through the marketplace of Radiant Garden. It was packed full of people, buying various goods or just chatting with one another.

"Man, it's like some sort of sophisticated flea market," Trevor said working his way through the crowd.

"A flea market you say," Bonkers said as he rolled the idea in his head. "Maybe we can buy some things to liven up the 'ol ship, whatdoya think?"

"Bonkers, this is not the time," Miranda calmly said as she barely avoided a collision with a baby stroller. "We are on a mission to fine out answers, remember?"

"Oh, I remember, Miranda. But, we could still shop while we look for answers."

Trevor closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened them again, he realized he almost crashed into a man in a wheelchair. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he apologized.

"That's alright, Trevor. I was looking for you anyways."

Trevor was stunned; this man knew who he was. He looked over the man in the wheelchair, his face and body was covered by a white cloth, but the keyblader could tell that the man wore a white suit. Pushing the wheelchair was a tall, bald man wearing sunglasses and a dark suit. Beside them a man with fiery red hair, and an overconfident smirk on his face. He too was wearing a dark suit.

"How do you-"

"News travels fast on this world, keyblader," the man interrupted. "But where are my manners? My name is Rufus Shinra, president of the Shinra Inc." He then gestured to the big man and then the red head, "His name is Rude and his' Reno. They are my hired help."

"I see…," Trevor said warily. He could tell that Rufus was trying to sound kinder and friendlier than he actually was.

"Let me explain myself," Rufus began again. "Several years ago, there was a group of elite warriors know as SOLDIER. Unfortunately, the group disassembled when the heartless took over this world.

"I have plans to start up SOLDIER again and I want all of the keybladers to join; your friends are welcome to join too, for course. With your help, we can not only protect this world, but all worlds from the threat of the heartless and those who wish to control them."

Trevor just shook his head; there was something about this that doesn't sound right. "It sounds like you are trying to raise a private army," he said flatly.

Rufus Shinra gave a slow grin under the cloth he was covered in. "An army? I no longer have a use for an army; not anymore." His gestured to Rude and the tall, bald man pulled out a small card and gave it to Trevor. "Well, I tried. Here is my card is case you change your mind." With that, Rude wheeled Rufus away from the marketplace.

"You know you really should join us," Reno said enthusiastically. "More adventures, more women, and better pay day."

"But we don't get paid," Bonkers said confused.

"Exactly," Reno stated before heading out to find Rude.

Trevor stared at Rufus' business card for a while before he put it in his pocket. "I don't trust that guy, do you guys?"

"There's something…'off' about him," Miranda stated. "Why do you think he is covered up that?"

"Maybe wanted shade from the sun," Bonkers blurted out without thinking.

"If he wanted to do that, then he would have used an umbrella," Trevor said thinking aloud. "Well, we wasted enough time here. We need to hurry and find Merlin's house, whoever _he_ is."

After getting lost four times and having to ask for directions twice, the group finally made it to Merlin's house. Trevor used the doorknocker three times before he heard someone on the other side of the door. "Who is it?" said someone in a singsong voice.

"Uh…my name is Trevor and-"

Before Trevor could finish, the door abruptly and a young woman in her late teens with short black hair leapt out and gave him an impromptu hug. "You're here! Oh, my name is Yuffie by the way," she said brushing her hair back. Before anyone could say anything else, she grabbed Trevor and dragged him inside. "Well all three of you, come on in! Don't be shy!"

The three of them entered the abode that was Merlin's house. It was mainly a huge room filled with knickknacks, tomes, and other random stuff. Trevor immediately recognized Sora, Riku and Kairi, but he also saw a bunch of new faces. When Yuffie stop dragging him, she faced a man with long brown hair, wearing black clothes, with a strange weapon beside him. "I found them Leon! They're finally here!"

"We can all see that Yuffie," the man said. "We're not blind, you know."

"Wait a minute," Trevor said regaining his composure. "Just who are you guys and where's King Mickey?"

"That would be me," said a short anthropomorphic mouse stepping up to shake Trevor's hand. "I'm King Mickey Mouse. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

If Trevor's jaw could have hit the floor, it would have. Never in a million years would he have thought the king would be a mouse. "You never told me that the king was a mouse," Trevor whispered to Bonkers.

"Well, you never asked," the bobcat simply put it.

"Should we get this meeting started, your majesty?" Leon asked Mickey as if he was bored.

"We are still missing another keyblader, Max, and P.J., but I think enough time has passed. They will have to catch up later."

"Agree." Leon then turned to Trevor, Miranda and Bonkers. "As for introductions go, I'm Leon, the current leader of this world. The young lady that almost tackled you is Yuffie Kisaragi, the commander of our stealth force."

"Hey, I'm no lady; I'm the great ninja, Yuffie!" Yuffie said in a joking matter.

Leon ignored the young ninja. "The woman in the pink dress is Aerith Gainsborough, our ambassador to the other worlds; the one next to her is Tifa Lockheart, a captain of our small military force. The dog knight over there is Goofy and the duck is Donald, the king's court wizard. That wizard with the long beard over there is Merlin, our expert in magic. And course you already met Sora, Riku, and Kairi."

"Cloud was supposed to join us," said Aerith a bit crestfallen, "but he's traveling among the worlds looking for someone..."

"Regardless of the all the absent people, this meeting must begin," Leon said as he sat down in a chair.

"Good, because I have some questions; a lot of them," Trevor said with a hint of authority. "First of all," he summoned the keyblade, "what's a keyblade and why did it chose me?"

"Perhaps I should answer that," Merlin said as he dusted off his spectacles. "The keyblade is a weapon unlike any other. Primarily, it's the extension of the wielder's heart that gives him or her tremulous power. How that power is manifested and formed depends and varies on the wielder, the condition of his heart, and the people he keeps close to his heart.

"As far as why did the keyblade chosen you, that is simple. It takes a special, strong, and unyielding heart to wield the keyblade. It's obvious you possess such a heart."

Trevor didn't know whether to be shocked or impressed. He never really thought about the condition of his heart. The fact that he had a keyblade was proof that he has a strong heart.

Nevertheless, that only answers two questions, only a billion or so to go. "Why are the leaders of this world and on your world," the keyblader gestured to King Mickey, "are so interested in stopping the heartless."

"That's easy," Leon began. "The heartless originated on this world, so it's up to the people of this world to aid in the destruction of the heartless in any way possible."

"The heartless came from this world?!" Trevor said shocked.

"Our former leader, Ansem the wise," Aerith said, "conducted experiments on the heartless several years ago. Those experiments resulted in the spreading of the heartless across the universe."

"And when we got our world back from the heartless," Yuffie stated, "Leon started a committee to restore our world and stop the heartless from spreading. The people of this world were so impress with everything Leon was done for this world that they made him our president!"

"He tried to turn down the offer, but the people won't let him," Aerith laughed.

Leon just grunted. "I still say that I'm not the perfect person for this job. However, if being stuck in this job means the destruction of the heartless then I'm all for it."

"As for me," King Mickey said as he stepped forward, "Ever since I'm became a keyblader, I was always aid warriors in their fight against the darkness in any way that I can. Unfortunately, the heartless is the kind of darkness that not only threatens one world, but all worlds. I cannot stand by and do nothing when I know I can make a difference."

"Okay, I can respect that," Trevor said. "Next question, who are the Forsaken, what are they planning?"

"The Forsaken?" questioned Leon.

"On one world, we ran into someone who said he was in a group called the Forsaken. According to him they are using the heartless." Trevor then turned to Sora. "And he was wearing the same blue cloak as that Luffy guy."

Sora clutched his fist tightly; just thinking about that straw-hat pirate was enough to send him over the deep end. What Luffy had done to Kairi was unforgivable.

Trevor continued, "Anyway, the person we fought keep ranting about false worlds and false people or something like that."

Kairi gasped, "Luffy said stuff like that too! He kept saying that Port Royal will fade away."

"What do you think this means, your majesty?" Goofy asked.

The king shook his head, "In all of my years I never heard of 'false worlds' or the Forsaken."

"And another thing," Miranda added, "We were shot out of the sky by a strange coyote that goes by the name Don Carnaģe."

"Oh, _him_," Leon said as he rubbed his temples. "Don Carnaģe is a pirate who robs gummi ships traveling in inter-space. His crew has been a real nuisance for us lately. But besides that, he is not much of a threat."

"But he didn't robbed us," Miranda stated. "He and his fleet of heartless gummi ships just shot us out of the sky."

Leon stopped rubbing his head and looked at the blonde woman. "Are you sure he controlled a fleet of heartless?"

"We're positive," Trevor said, backing up Miranda.

"But isn't Don Carnaģe a small time criminal?" Goofy inquired. "He doesn't have the power to control those heartless, does he?"

"That's true," Tifa spoke up for the first time. "Don Carnaģe may be a pirate, but he is a screw-up at best. Half of his robberies ends badly…for him. One time he and his crew tried to rob a gummi ship filled with some of our best warriors; me included. Let's just say that coyote won't able to walk straight for the rest of the year."

"Don Carnaģe is too stupid and weak willed to gain control of the heartless," Leon wondered aloud. "Unless…"

"Someone _gave _him the power to control the heartless," Riku said flatly.

"Well, whoever did it either has a poor choice of character or is just using him as a lackey," Tifa said with her arms crossed.

"So Don Carnaģe couldn't be the one behind this," Trevor scratched his chin. "Now for my next question, who is Naraku? I heard his name on several worlds now and from what I heard it sounds like he is the one pulling the strings."

Aerith mulled it over in her head, "The name sounds familiar, but…nothing comes to mind."

"I know what you mean, Aerith," Merlin said scratching his head. "It's like something I heard in some far-off dream."

Trevor sighed; all of his questions were being half-answered. He knew it wasn't the others' fault, but still he would have felt better if he had all the information.

"But what are they planning?" Sora questioned. "That's what I want to know."

"Well, I think it's safe to say that we are dealing with two groups here." Everyone looked at Riku as he continued explaining. "First, we have group one; the Forsaken. From what it sounds like they are targeting only certain worlds and certain people. Then we have the second group, who targets worlds indiscriminately. This Naraku character probably leads the latter group. This group also gives the power of the heartless to random criminals and allowing them to run amuck with it."

"Riku probably right," Mickey said, "Most likely, we are dealing with two groups, and both of them are probably trying to gain control of Kingdom Hearts."

"So the question is 'What are we going to do about it?'" Trevor said.

"Why that's easy my boy," Merlin laughed. "We find those ruffians and force them to stop. But we aren't going to do anything until you three receive proper training."

"_Training?_" Trevor, Miranda and Bonkers said simultaneously.

The 'proper' training, it turns out, is a crash course of magic casting and swordsmanship. Aerith, Donald, and Merlin were tutoring Bonkers while Leon, Riku, Tifa, Sora, Goofy, Yuffie, and King Mickey tutored Trevor and Miranda. The area that they trained in was a large vacant room located under Merlin's house. The large room was about two-thirds the size of a football field with hardwood flooring and a curved brick wall that gave the room a dome shape.

"Keep holding that flame," Aerith said to Bonkers.

Bonkers was using his newfound magical powers to maintain a figa spell in midair. The stain of maintaining the spell was getting to Bonkers. "Can we stop now?" he begged.

"Not yet," Donald ordered. "Now make the flame move in an elliptical pattern."

"I'm not sure what's the point of this," Bonkers said struggling to move the flame.

"The point, my good boy," Merlin said, "is for you to learn how to control your powers so you can use them effectively in any given situation."

"This exercise also helps train you to control the amount of mana you release to cast the spell," Aerith added.

Trevor and Miranda wasn't fairing any better, they were both fighting all of their instructors and was succumbing to fatigue.

"You're a pretty good fighter," Leon huffed as he swung his gunblade at Trevor. The keyblader blocked the attack, but was hit on the back by Riku's keyblade. "But you need to learn how to fight multiple enemies at once."

Trevor dodged Leon's next attack, blocked Riku's, and then parried Sora. He then attacked Sora, who fell on the ground, then blocked and counterattack Leon, and finally swirl around and attacked Riku. "Better," Leon said impressed on how fast Trevor was learning.

Meanwhile, Miranda was fighting Tifa, Yuffie, Mickey, and Goofy. The blonde swordswoman dodged Goofy's charge and blocked the king's attack. As she parried Mickey's attack, she dodged a rain of flying shuriken sent by Yuffie. To her surprise, Tifa kicked the sword out of her hand and charged her for a left uppercut. Miranda dodged and grabbed Tifa's arm and sent her crashing to the ground; all of that training in the police academy sure does come in handy. With her peripheral vision she saw that Mickey was charging with another attack, so she rolled out of the way and grabbed her sword. She barely had enough time to block the king's attack.

"Good…," he said, "You are learning to adapt to the situation around you."

"Of course," she huffed, "What do you think they taught us at the police academy? How to play tiddlywinks? I think not."

Before anyone else could make a move, a piercing alarm filled the room and sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"What is that?!" Bonkers inquired.

"It's the heartless alarm!!" Leon yelled as he and the others bolted for the door.

Outside Merlin's house was pandemonium, people running in and out of buildings to escape the sudden heartless invasion. Swarms of Neoshadows, Rapid Thrusters, and Armored Knights fill the streets and the skies attacks random people and turning them into heartless. Everybody readied their weapons in preparation for a long battle.

"I don't understand it," Leon cried as he split a heartless into two with his gunblade, "How could this happen again? How can we be caught so off guard?!!"

"My, how brightly your souls and hearts burn," thirty feet away from the warriors a Darkside risen from the ground below with its hands clasped together. When it fully emerged it opened its hands to reveal a teenager older than Sora or Riku, but definitely younger than Trevor. What made Trevor cringed was the fact that the teen was wearing green clothes that was fit for an emperor and that he had a symbol tattooed on his forehead; the young man was a Bleak. "Yes, their souls with sustain us nicely, what do you think Suzaku?"

"I think so, your majesty." The group turned around and saw another Bleak also dress in fine clothes and carrying a sword.

"Crap, we're surrounded," Tifa cursed.

"Just who are these guys," Goofy inquired.

Before Trevor could answer the question for them, the king answered for him. "They are known as the Bleak. Be careful and stay alert, they tend to be powerful beings."

The first Bleak smiled at the mouse king. "So you know what we are huh? Well then, let us introduce ourselves, my name Lelouch vi Britannia and the man behind you is my knight of zero, Suzaku Kururugi. Normally I would allow you to introduce yourselves, but since none of you won't be alive for much longer I don't really see much of a point to it. Now listen well…Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia commands you¾"

The Bleak moved his right hand over his eyes, but before he could do anything a dark skinned young woman with flowing dark hair tied to a ponytail, leapt up, seemingly out of nowhere, behind the Bleak and strike him down with her keyblade. Before anyone could do anything, a teenage dog-boy delivered a powerful blow on the Darkside's head destroying it with one hit.

"How dare you lay a hand on his majesty!!!" Suzaku yelled and leapt to attack the young woman. But before he could land a blow a massive ball of energy in shape of a comet hit the knight of zero and sent him crashing into a wall of a building.

"Nice work P.J.," the female keyblade praised.

The overweight cat-boy gave a huge grin and scratched the back of his head embarrassed.

The new keyblader turned to the group of warriors, "So…, am I late to the party?"

"Oooo, who are you and where did you learn those awesome moves,' Yuffie said excitedly.

"Yes, who are you," Lelouch said as he pushed aside and huge chuck of debris off his back. "Tell me so I can write it on your tombstone."

The young woman keyblade smirked and place her keyblade on her shoulder, "The name is Cynthia."

"Cynthia huh?" Lelouch scoffed. The Bleak was tick off that a mere keyblader was able to catch him off guard. "Suzaku!" the emperor yelled, "Your emperor commands you to _LIVE_!!!"

The Bleak knight leapt up from behind the rubble he was buried under and landed with his sword drawn. "Yes, your majesty!"

With unimaginable speed, Suzaku lunged himself at Cynthia. The female keyblader tried to prepare to block the attack, but she knew she would be too slow. Just before the attack could connect, King Mickey leapt and blocked Suzaku's attack.

"RUN!!" the king yelled to Cynthia, but the new keyblader stood her ground.

"No way, like it or not am still in this fight!"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!" Suzaku yelled and managed to send Mickey crashing to the ground with such force the impact left a crater.

Before the knight of zero could attack again he noticed that all the other warriors manage to surround him and about to attack him all at once. Just a moment before any of their weapons could get a hair's width of the knight, Suzaku manage to counterattack everybody and send them flying.

"What kind of power does this guy has?" Tifa complain as she rubbed an injured arm.

"I don't think it's power," Riku said trying to read his opponent. "It's like…, his need, his desire, to live gives him the strength he need to defeat his opponents."

"You are correct sir," Lelouch said from a safe distance away from the battlefield. "Long ago, I forced Suzaku to live no matter what." The emperor paused and smiled at the evitable defeat of his new enemies. "In fact, as I recall, he regarded his need to live a curse. Didn't you, Suzaku?"

"Yes, I did," confessed Suzaku as he steadied his sword. "And in some ways, I still do. But now, I can use my curse to defeat any enemy that comes my way."

"I don't care how you got this strange power or why you need to live," Trevor said as he readied his keyblade. "What I want to know is how did you became Bleaks and who sent you."

Lelouch just smirked and gave a scornful look as if he wonders why this young man asked him such a stupid question. "To be perfectly honesty, we don't how we became Bleaks. One day, we were on our world, just as human as you are. Then the next, we found ourselves wandering the universe as Bleaks. As far as who sent us? Why, I sent ourselves, of course. Beings such as us don't desire or need a master. But I digress; we wasted too much time talking. Suzaku, finish them!"

"Yes, your majesty," Suzaku repeated and charged at Trevor.

_Crap, I don't have time to dodge or block the attack_, Trevor thought. Then, without thinking, Trevor somehow blocked Suzaku's attack. _Time to switch players_, a voice laughed within his heart and soul. Trevor, once again, found himself no longer in control of his own body.

With amazing strength and speed, Trevor's body plunged his keyblade into Suzaku's chest like it was nothing at all. Suzaku was shocked beyond belief, how could he fail? How could he lose so easily? "I…lost…?" the knight managed to say after a few seconds. As Trevor pulled out his keyblader out of the knight, Suzaku began to disappear into black smoke. "No! There is so much to do!" he pledged. "So much I need to complete! The zero requiem-" and with that Suzaku vanish in one final puff of black smoke.

Lelouch could only watch, in fear and anguish, as his knight and childhood friend being sent to void of the afterlife. "Curse you…" the Bleak emperor said under his breath at first. "Curse you all!!!!" before Lelouch could do anything, Trevor already dealt the finish blow on the Bleak. At first Lelouch was shocked, then he close his eyes and smiled in acceptance. "I see… You are like us Bleaks, aren't you, keyblader?"

Trevor wished he could cringe at the question and the possibility that maybe, just maybe, there was a connection between his condition and the Bleaks. But he couldn't, his body was being controlled by someone else; force to watch his body act on its own like he was dreaming.

Only this time, it wasn't a dream.

As Lelouch disperse into black smoke, Trevor felt the dark power leaving his body and he was once again in control.

"That was incredible!!" Cynthia praised. "Where did you learn those moves?"

"Yeah, I don't think even Riku could do that," Sora said very impressed.

"In his dreams…," Riku muttered under his breath, but was actually impressed by the older keyblader.

"It was nothing…really," Trevor tried to tell everyone, but inside he was shaking like a leaf. Was he turning into a monster like, Tia Dalma prophesized he would? Was he no different than the Heartless, Nobodies, or Bleaks? And more importantly, is there a way to stop this before it is too late?

"The heartless are dissipating," Leon commented and sure enough, all of the heartless gave up the ghost and began to vanish.

"What do you think those two wanted?" asked Aerith.

"Destruction and mayhem; it's in their nature," King Mickey commented.

"Now we have to rebuild this sector of the town…_again_," Leon said extremely annoyed.

"And I'm afraid if we don't stop those who want the power of Kingdom Hearts for themselves then we would only get more of the some," Mickey said soberly. He turned to face everybody. "Clearly this situation has gotten out of hand, I am afraid I was right when I said we would need all the help we can get. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda, we need you guys to patrol and protect the various worlds out there."

"We won't fail you, your majesty," Riku said and meant every word.

"Cynthia, Max, and P.J., come with the rest of us. We will explain to you the gravity of the situation."

After everyone said their brief goodbye and when on their assignments, Leon pulled Mickey off to the side for a moment. "That one keyblader, Trevor, do you trust him? Something about him seems…_off_."

The king lowered his head and thought it over for a moment. "When he destroyed those two Bleaks, I sense a huge amount of dark energy pouring out of him. There was so much of it that it put Xehanort's heartless and Xemnas to shame."

"But what does that mean? Do you think he some type of double agent?"

"No I don't think so… I mean Riku can freely use the darkness to his advantage; Trevor could be the same way. However…"

"However, what?"

"It was just that…I was expecting another type of keyblader. Trevor's produces a different kind of energy than the person that I sent Bonkers and Miranda to find. In fact Trevor's aura is completely different than the aura of the people on that world."

"Do you think we have been compromise?"

"No, I don't believe so… He heart is in the right place. However, at times it feels as if he has _two_ hearts."

Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda returned to Cid's gummi ship gummi completely worn out by today's attacks. The moment they've arrived Cid came out wiping the grease off his hands with an old rag. "So you three finally decided to show up," the blonde man said as if the three were wasting his time and money. "I completed your upgrades about three hours ago. The least you could do is show up on time."

"Listen old man," Trevor started, "We were too busy protected your town from a heartless invasion, so would you please stop messing with us?"

Cid just sniffed, somewhat irritated. "You keep calling me old man, so I keep messing with you. Anyway, that's beside the point. Let me show you what I did to your ship."

Cid walked them over the gummi ship hanger platform and listed everything he had done to the ship. "First of all, I gave you the latest and best weapon system to date: five twin-cannons, rapid fire lasers, heat seeking missiles, along with, my personal favorite, the ultra proton cannon. You have enough fire power to take on several armies and then some!"

"Great," Trevor said impressed. "I can't believe you did all of that in just a few hours."

"Phfft!" Cid looked at the keyblader as if he was insulted. "Install a weapon system in a few hours? Kid, I install your weapon system in ten minutes! You really should give me some credit!" He quickly wiped his nose with his right fist to show how insulted he was. "I used the rest of my time upgrading your communication system. You are now able to communicate with people from this world, just case you need any help. You also can contact Sora's, Mickey's, and that one girl, what's her name…Cynthia! You can contact their gummi ship and pass along information and what not."

"You really outdone yourself, Cid," Miranda commented.

"Now you three youngins' are getting the picture. Just be careful out there. And _try _not to get shot up again. You are now piloting a work of art."

Trevor just rolled his eyes as he got into the ship. "Take care of yourself, old man."

"The name's _CID_! Do I look like an old man to you?!" Cid never got an answer, because the ship's door closed and began to take off. "Damn kid," Cid sniffed before smiling to himself. "But he sure does have some spunk."

**KH-KH-KH**

Far away in a distant empire, an ancient looking woman named Yzma stood over a closed coffin looking extremely ticked off. Besides her was a dimwitted, but very muscular man named Kronk, who had, as usual, no clue what's going on.

"Uh…, Yzma?" Kronk said hesitantly. "Why there's a coffin in your secret lab?"

"Because my experiment failed, that's why. Darn you Hojo! That's the last time a hire a mad scientist from _Craig's List_Ó."

"But you can get some really good deals off of that website. But, why did you need a mad scientist? Aren't you already one?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Yzma said with a wave of her hand. "But I needed someone with experience in dealing with genetics and metaphysical forces. I wanted him to help me create a soldier unlike any other. Hojo already had a test subject he found wandering the universe, and then during the middle of the procedure, the subject died on us, just like that.

"And instead of finding another test subject, Hojo took my money and ran off with it, leaving me with a dead body and shattered hopes."

"Well, yeah. Good help is hard to find these days," Kronk sympathized.

"Ain't that the truth," Yzma said looking at her assistant wondering why she kept him on her payroll.

"But why do you need a super soldier? You already have the whole royal army at your disposal."

"Yes, but I need a super soldier to take over Naraku's inter-circle."

"But aren't you already in it?"

"Yes Kronk, I am! But we are moving too slow for my taste. If I was the leader of the group, we would have taken Kingdom Hearts by now!" Yzma then hold her head in her hand and then sighed. "Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk. Time to get rid of this thing." With as snap of her fingers, Yzma opened a portal of darkness and pushed the coffin into abyss.

"Wow," Kronk say in awe. "Since when could you do that and where does that portal goes?"

The ancient woman just shrugged. "I can do lots of things now that I have power over the heartless. As far as where that portal goes, who knows? The coffin will probably drift in darkness forever." The old scientist/sorceress reclined in a nearby chair. "Oh well, at least it's not a total lost. I mean, Kuzco's dead and now I'm the empress."

Kronk suddenly started to act nervously. "O-of course Kuzco's dead. He couldn't be deader. That is, unless we kill him again."

"I suppose," Yzma eyeing Kronk suspiciously. "Kronk, tell me that Kuzco's dead."

"Well…uh….you see…."

Yzma then grabbed Kronk by the chin and pulled him down to her eye level. "I need to hear those words: Kuzco, is, dead!"

"D-do you need to hear those words exactly?"

"He's still alive?!!" Yzma said with her face turning red with anger. "How could you do this to me?!!"

"I'm _so_ sorry Yzma!" Kronk said on his hands and knees trying to beg for forgiveness. "But some peasant got him. I tried to look for him, but he vanished in the marketplace."

"Enough of your excuses!" the old woman snapped. "Do you know what this means?!"

"That I'm not getting that raise?"

"Of course not, you idiot! But, it also means that we must hunt down Kuzco and kill him before he tells someone that I tried to off him. Come Kronk, thanks to you we got some unfinished business to take care of."

In a hidden corner of the lab, a small figure with an absurdly long tail, wearing a blue cloak listened to Yzma's and Kronk's conversation. "Looks like I have some unfinished business too," the figure said to himself in a cartoonish voice.

**Next Chapter: The Dog, the Princess, and the Keyblader**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

Ryuk: Death Note(manga 2003)

Rufus Shinra: Final Fantasy VII

Rude: Final Fantasy VII

Reno: Final Fantasy VII

Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Willie(1928)_Although, technically he first appeared in "Plane Crazy" in 1928_

Donald Duck: The Wise Little Hen (1934)

Goofy: Two Weeks Vacation (1952)

Cid Highwind: Final Fantasy VII

Tifa Lockheart: Final Fantasy VII

Aerith Gainsborough: Final Fantasy VII

Yuffie Kisaragi: Final Fantasy VII

Squall "Leon" Leonheart: Final Fantasy VIII

Merlin: The Sword and the Stone(1963)

Lelouch vi Britannia: Code Geass(2006)

Suzaku Kururugi: Code Geass(2006)

Yzma: The Emperor's New Groove(2000)

Kronk: The Emperor's New Groove(2000)


	9. The Dog, the Princess, and the Keyblader

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Dog, the Princess, and the Keyblader**

"Are we there yet?" Bonkers whined, completely bored out of his skull.

"No," Miranda deadpanned, absolutely sick of the bobcat asking that question.

"Are we there _yet_?" Bonkers repeated.

"For the last time, _NO!!!_" Trevor yelled, putting down a book he was reading to pass the time. "We will get there when we get there!"

"But traveling between worlds is _sooo_ boring."

"Well, find something to occupy your time like the rest of us," and with that, Trevor continued reading where he left off.

The bobcat gave a long, melodramatic sigh and allowed his eyes to wander around the room. His eyes finally landed on the Infinite Improbability Drive button that the witch, Yuko, warned them about. Curiosity and temptation came over the bobcat as he stared at the forbidden fruit in mechanical form. He looked around the room to make sure no one will witness what he was about to do. Miranda was busy on her laptop and Trevor was too involved in reading his book; _the close is clear!_

Like a snake, Bonkers slithered across the floor until he was at the main computer console. A needy, but slightly wicked, grin spread across the bobcat's face as his finger slowly moved toward the button. He _needed_ to find out what this button does.

Miranda then glanced over toward Bonkers and noticed what he was doing. "Bonkers, what are you-" but it was too late.

Bonkers slammed the button with his fist and all hell broke loose. With a puff of logic, the Heart of Gold vanished without a trace, but not before it transformed into several miscellaneous objects as such: an orange, a rainbow trout, a bust of Mozart, a toaster, and the Titanic.

Inside the cockpit of the Heart of Gold, it would seem that reason, and reality for that matter, had taken a vacation.

"Miranda, where are we?" Trevor asked nervously.

"I-I think we are still in the cockpit," The female cop said trying to comprehend what's going on.

"Then why is this octopus is giving us a manicure?" Sure enough, there was a large purple octopus giving both Trevor and Miranda an unnecessary manicure.

"Bonkers, what did you do?!" Miranda yelled.

Bonkers, who was getting a pedicure by Don Knots, just shrugged. "Don't know. All I did was pushed the forbidden Infinite Improbability Drive button that Yuko warned us about."

"Bonkers, there's a reason why certain things are forbidden," Trevor chided.

The octopus and Don Knots melted into the background as the scenery around changed into a French bistro with zoo animals as waiters.

"Okay, now this is freaky," Trevor said with panic in his voice.

"What's so freaky about it," Bonkers said calmly. "This is a delightful place."

The bistro would have been a delightful place if the animals would stop throwing food and other unmentionable things at each other.

"What kind of button did you push?!" Miranda yelled as an uncooked frog leg hit her on the head.

"Perhaps some sort of crazy button," Trevor said as he dodged a banana-nut muffin.

The bistro began to shrink and transformed itself into a small, windowless office filled with cheap furniture from IKEAÔ.

"Well, guess things could be worse," Bonkers said as he sat on a power blue sofa.

"Bonkers, you're sitting on me," the sofa said causing the bobcat to leap away with fright.

"TREVOR HELP!!!! MIRANDA TRANSFORMED INTO A CHEAP SOFA!!!!!"

"I'm kinda in the middle of something," Trevor grumbled as he trying to stop an infinite amount of monkeys from entering the office by trying the keep the door shut. "Bonkers, the monkeys outside want to talk to you about a Shakespeare play they wrote."

Then, just like that, the madness stopped. The insanity went as just as it came; quickly and abruptly. All three of them found themselves in the cockpit of the Heart of Gold safe, sound, and no longer turned into couches.

Eddie chimed in gleefully as if nothing happened. "Good morning gang! My sensors indicted that you try the Infinite Improbability Drive out for a spin. Although, next time, I advise you to set up the proof screens before using it again."

"What the hell was that button for?" Trevor demanded, "Torture?"

"Of course not, silly," the computer stated. "It's for traveling between worlds. You see, this ship is powered by the Infinite Improbability Drive, which allows the ship to travel vast distances in a mere nothing of second. How it works is, basically, this; the Infinite Improbability Drive moves the ship throughout every point of space, time, and probability in a single instance. Thus allowing the passengers on the ship to get to where they want to go as soon as they hit that button."

"So, let me get this straight," Trevor said trying to make sense out of the situation. "We can travel to any point of the universe, by pressing that button?"

"Yep, that is correct, my good sir," Eddie chimed. "However, if you set up the proofing screens _before_ you activated the Improbability Drive, then you wouldn't have problems dealing with the highly improbable."

"Wait a minute," Miranda stood up, but wobbled a bit. "If we did just travel through vast distances of time and space, then where are we now?"

"I have absolutely no idea!" Eddie said brightly. The computer screen suddenly turned on showing nothing, but an inky abyss.

"Is the screen busted or something," the keyblader tapped the screen, "why are there no stars in the sky?"

"According to my sensors, gang," Eddie began, "The nearest world is about several billion light-years in any direction. Other words, we are in uncharted territory! Isn't that exciting?!"

"No," Trevor said as he flopped down on the captain's chair. "It means we are in the middle of nowhere." He stared draggers at the cartoon bobcat. "A fine mess you gotten ourselves into, Bonkers."

Bonkers paid him no attention; instead, he was fixated on the screen. "Hey what that on the screen?"

"There nothing on the screen, Bonkers," Miranda said.

"Yes there is," Bonkers got up and pointed to a tiny speck floating in the seemly endless void.

"Eddie, zoom in on the speck, and start scanning it," Trevor stated.

On the screen, the computer enlarged the speck two hundred times with the word SCANNING displayed across the screen. At first the speck looked like an insignificance, stray meteor floating in space, but as they watch it slowly turn, they saw it.

"I-I-is that…?" Trevor stammered.

"A house?!" Miranda yelled.

SCANNING AND ANALYSIS COMPLETE flashed around the screen for three seconds before displaying a much clearer image of the speck. It turns out that speck was a world. A desolate landscape covered the world with a lone farmhouse sitting on top of it.

"It's a world, gang!!" Eddie sang brightly. "Not too far from here. Although, there no record of this world in my data banks, I do detect strong supernatural energy on it."

The crew was in shock to find a world in the middle of nowhere. Finally, Trevor decided to speak. "Do you think we should go down there?"

Miranda thought about it for a minute. "Eddie did say there was strong supernatural activity on the world. It could mean the heartless is on this world."

"Or it could be the perfect hideout for one of the mysterious organizations we've been tracking." Trevor made up his mind," We're going there to have a look around. If it turns out to be nothing, then we'll be on our way."

**KH-KH-KH**

Little did Trevor know that he hit the nail on the head when he described the place as the middle of nowhere, because that's happens to be the name of the world; _Nowhere_. The world was a desolate one due to an endless drought and poor caretaking of the land that plague the land years ago. Despite its poor caretaking and its seemingly total isolation, the world is a hotbed of activity ranging from supernatural talking eggplants to the occasional dog-loving storm goddess. In other words, Nowhere isn't a stranger to odd events.

On the porch on the old farmhouse, a small pink dog quietly gnawed on an old boot he found long ago. Surprisingly, it has been a quiet week for the dog, and usually he would have to save his owners came certain death around this time.

Suddenly, the dog noticed the sky was starting to bulge and crack. The dog's eyes became large as dinner plates as a small portion of the sky shattered and a powerful eddies of magic flowed from the rift. The mystical eddies then reached the ground several feet from the farmhouse and started to take the form of five figures: two teenagers, a tall man with dark clothes and a katana, a skinny blonde man, and a small, white rabbit-looking creature.

To say that the dog was shocked beyond belief is an understatement; he was terrified. He let out an ear-piercing shriek and ran inside the farmhouse. Without delay, the faithful dog tried to warn his owners; a elderly couple whom adopted him when the poor dog, due to a certain circumstance, was forced to live on the streets alone. The small dog made a pledge for his owners to listen to him. The bald, old man put down the newspaper he was reading and stared daggers at the pink dog while the old woman stop rocking in her rocking chair and watched her dog with curiosity. Desperate in trying to warn his owners about the strangers outside the dog, with amazing skill, transformed himself into a flying saucer then to a one eyed monster with tentacles. When the dog amused its normal form, it shook with fear and pointed out the door.

"What the matter, Courage?" the old pump woman ask in her usual Scottish accent. "Are ya hungry?"

The old man just sneered; oh, how he hated that dog! "Stupid dog!" he said for the fiftieth time today. The old man reached behind his favorite chair, pulled out a horrible looking green mask, and put it on his face. "BOOGA, BOOGA, BOOGA!!!!!!" he yelled at the already frighten dog.

Courage screamed his heart out (literally, his heart came out of his mouth for a few seconds before returning to his inners.) and ran upstairs to escape Eustace's wrath.

Eustace lifted his mask and chuckled as he watched the dog flee in terror. His small victory was interrupted by his wife's, Muriel, rolling pin hitting him on the head. "Oww!" he cried as his rubbed his now sore head. "What did I do?"

Outside, the five strangers looked around the new world at they are in and wasn't impressed by the scenery. The slender, blonde man sensing everyone's despair decided that it was his job to make the best out of a bad situation. "Well, this place isn't so bad… All it needs is a couple of trees, and maybe-"

"This place is a dump," the tall man with the katana said flatly.

"Oh Kuro-tan," the blonde man chided in a joking matter. "Always thinking that the glass is half-full."

"Again with these weird names?" the tall ninja seethed. "What will it take for you to learn that my name is Kurogane?"

"Of course I know your name," the blonde man smiled innocently; "I just choose to ignore it."

Before Kurogane could strangle the other man with his bare hands, the teenage girl of the group spoke up and changed the subject. "I think Fai-san is right. This world isn't that bad. In fact, it reminds me of the Kingdom of Clow. What do you think Syaoran-kun?"

The teen boy looked around place before answering. "The climate is almost the same, Princess. However, it lacks the sand dunes and the majesty that the Kingdom of Clow has to offer."

The Princess smiled at his answer and Syaoran smiled back at her. How many weeks has it been since he been on this quest? To seek out Princess Sakura's feathers so she can regain her memories?

Syaoran's thoughts were interrupted when pools of darkness surrounded him and his friends. He instinctively pulled Sakura away from the threat as readied himself in his fighting position. Kurogane already drew his katana, Sôhi, while Fai smiled to himself and gathered the throwing darts from his pocket.

Out of the pools of darkness, Neoshadows came forth. The heartless occasionally turn their heads to the side, wiggle their antennas to sense, and scan their opponents' strengths and weakness.

"Well, well. These guys kind of look like the oni from the country of Ôto," Fai said as he pulled out three darts. "What do you think 'Big Puppy?'?"

"STOP CALLING ME WEIRD NAMES!!!!!!" Kurogane yelled at Fai as he cut three heartless in half.

Up in the attic of the farmhouse, Courage the Cowardly Dog was trying to calm himself down. His right paw was over his heart as he lay panting on the floor like there was no tomorrow. Why Eustace always have to be so mean to him? And why does he fall for the same scare tactics every day? However, Courage didn't have time to think about that now, chances are his family is in danger, _again_, and he would have to save them; _again_.

The small dog looked out of the window of the attic and saw that the strangers, whom fell from the sky, were now fighting even stranger creatures from the darkness. Courage quickly averted his eyes from the sight. The situation, whatever it was, was worse than he thought! He just wished he knew what it all meant. There's only one thing to do; consult with an expert.

Unfortunately, the only 'expert' Courage knew was the computer that sat in the far corner of the attic. The computer had aided Courage through his many (mis)adventures by always giving the dog advice on how to deal with the supernatural. "What do I do? What do I do?" Courage said aloud in a panic as he quickly pecked on the keyboard. "Strangers fell out of the sky," he continued. "Black creatures with yellow eyes appeared out of thin air. WHAT ARE THEY?!!!!!"

"For starters could you stop pounding the keyboard so hard, you twit," the computer responded in a bored, unforgiving tone. "The way you were hammering on the darn thing, one would swear you were trying to break it."

"Never mind that," Courage said and typed at the same time. "Just tell me what they are!"

"Alright, alright," the computer stated. "No need to get testy. From the way that you describe it, those 'strangers' are travelers from another world. The white rabbit thing you saw with them is a Mokona; a being with the ability to send people into other dimensions and realms across space and time.

"The ones you should really be worry about are the creatures with the yellow eyes. They called the heartless and are, basically, the darkness in the human heart incarnate. Their sole purpose is to devour other hearts, which, in turn, turns their victims into heartless. They also tend to swarm various worlds and dimensions consuming everything until there is nothing left. Sucks to be you."

Courage shuddered; Muriel _was _in danger. He has to find a way to get rid of the heartless before they hurt Muriel. "How do I get rid of the heartless?" the pink dog typed.

"The thing is, you can't. Tough break kid," the computer said secretly enjoying the dog's anguish.

"There must be a way!" Courage pleaded. There was no way he would let anything bad happen to his masters.

"Fine," the computer huffed somewhat mad that it has to help this miserable dog. "In order to banish the heartless from a world one will have to lock the world's keyhole with a keyblade; an ancient powerful weapon bestowed upon great warriors."

"Okay," Courage said scratching his head. "Where do I find a keyblade?"

"You can't just find a keyblade, you twit. In order to use the keyblade it must be bestowed upon you by forces your tiny brain can't even comprehend."

"Well then," the dog typed annoyed by the verbal abuse he was getting, "Is there another way to get rid of the heartless?"

"Start hacking them away with a sword," and with that, the computer shut itself off refusing to answer any more questions.

Courage stared at the blank, empty monitor for a moment. He was screwed. There were no weapons of any kind in the house that he could use. Courage looked next to the computer and spotted his trusted yo-yo; his only possession in the world. He grabbed it and headed out of the attic door; it would have to do.

"_Hhhhhhhhoooooooooooootttttttt!!!_" Bonkers complained as he and the others drifted aimlessly under the hot, brutal sun.

"Why do we always go to worlds with extreme climates?" Miranda moaned as she fanned herself with a paper fan. "First the south pole, then the hot and humid Caribbean sea, and now a forsaken desert."

"I know what you mean," Trevor said with a dry throat. "It's almost like we are being punish for something."

"Where's a lemonade stand when you need it?" the bobcat said literally sweating buckets.

After a few minutes they finally reached their destination, the small, wore down farmhouse. Upon arrival, they found a small group of people fighting a large number of heartless. They were holding up okay so far, but a heartless charged the teenage boy of the group from his right side. Trevor pulled out his keyblade and run to save the teen. _What's the matter with him_, the keyblader thought,_ can't he see the heartless coming at him?_

It was only when the teen turned around he saw the heartless. Trevor managed to destroy the heartless before it attacked the brown hair teen. "Thanks," the teen said as he destroyed another heartless with a flying kick.

Meanwhile, Miranda and Kurogane were destroying the most heartless. "You fight pretty well for a novice," the ninja said killing five heartless with one swipe.

"Who's says I'm a novice," Miranda joked as she block an attack.

"Your technique is atrocious," Kurogane said without skipping a beat. "Your stands are sloppy and unstable, and you make many unnecessary movements."

"Oh, is that all?" Miranda huffed.

Fai and Bonkers were put in charge of protecting Princess Sakura and Mokona. "Hey, I used to have a staff like that a long time ago." Fai said as he destroyed a heartless with his throwing darts.

"It's neat isn't it?" Bonkers cast a Firga spell wiping out three heartless. "A really nice witch gave it to me."

Fai stopped for a moment and pondered what the bobcat had said. "A witch? Was this witch…?"

Before Fai can continue, all of the Neoshadows started coming together and formed into a giant heartless. The new heartless was over seven feet tall. It had the body of a professional bodybuilder and the head of a wolf. It had on purple boxing gloves and purple boxing trunks with the heartless emblem on it. The strange werewolf boxer heartless started bouncing on the balls of its feet as any professional boxer would.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kurogane said as he lifted his sword.

"It's a new type of heartless," Trevor said as he fired a blizzard spell.

Before the spell could reach the giant heartless, it quickly punched the ice energy coming at it causing the spell to go inert.

"Yeah… We're in trouble," Trevor dreaded as the heartless rushed toward them.

Before the heartless could connect a punch, a yo-yo stuck it in the head. The creature of darkness looked down and saw a small, pink dog with a frighten grin. The boxer heartless then threw a punch at the dog for its insolence. Lucky for Courage, he managed to dodge the attack, but when the punch hit the ground, it causes a powerful shockwave that made everyone stumble a little.

Kurogane was the first one on his feet and quickly charged the heartless. The heartless quickly dodged each attack and then hit the ninja with a swift jab causing Kurogane to fly backwards. The ninja wiped the blood from his mouth, "This is going to be fun." Both Kurogane and the heartless rushed each other. "Hama ryû-ô-jin!!" the ninja yelled as he cut the heartless in half, releasing its heart.

"That was a little _too_ easy," Kurogane said with a grin as he put his katana in its sheath.

"Wow, I got to try that move sometime," Trevor said impressed.

"It seems like your country has an infestation of some kind," Fai said to Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda.

"Oh, we're not from around here," Miranda said.

"Hey, you can say we're out of this world!" Bonkers joked.

"Bonkers!!" Trevor and Miranda yelled at the bobcat.

"Wait; are your four from another world?" Princess Sakura asked.

Trevor sighed; their cover was blown thanks to the cartoon bobcat. "Yes, we are from another world. But wait a minute, there is only three of us. Why did you say four?"

"You mean this cute dog isn't with you?" Sakura held up Courage like a child would do to a stuffed animal.

"No, I thought he was with you."

"Well, if he isn't with you," Fai reasoned as he scratched the top of Courage's head, "Then that means he's a native to this world."

"Judging by the way you said, 'native to this world' you four must be travelers just like us."

"Guilty as charged," Fai and Sakura sang out in unison.

"You forgot Mokona!" a white rabbit-like thing jumped from behind Sakura and landed on Trevor's head.

"WAHHHH!!!!! FREAKY RABBIT LOOKING THING!!!!" Trevor yelled trying to get the creature off his head.

"Oh that's just Mokona," Fai said as he grabbed Mokona from Trevor's head. "He's kinda our mascot. He helps us travel between worlds, among other things."

Before they can converse any farther, Muriel, who stepped out of the front door to see what the ruckus was about, interrupted them. "Oh my," the plump woman said in shocked as she looked at all the strangers in her front yard. "Courage, you didn't tell me that we're gonna to have company over." Muriel stepped aside from the door and gestured everyone in. "Well come in, come in," she said with a warm smile. "Come in the house before ya get a heatstroke."

"Ma'am, that's the kindest thing anyone has said to me in a while," Trevor stated as he made his way into the house.

The inside of the farmhouse had that old people smell, the kind that was tolerable. The walls were adorned with flower wallpaper from decades ago and the rooms were filled with very old, but lasting, furniture. The two groups gathered around the dinning room table while Muriel, being the gracious hostess she is, served them tea and a plate of sweet raspberry tarts. Because the dinning room table could only seat four people, Miranda, Sakura, Syaoran, and Trevor were the only ones seated. Mokona, being so small, sat on the table next to Sakura. Fai, Bonkers, and Kurogane stood and lean against the wall, while Courage just sat on the floor.

"What kind of tea is this, Mrs. Bagg?" Miranda asked as she took a second slip. "It's really good."

"It's oolong tea, my dear," Muriel said as everyone took another sip of the tea. "With a wee touch of vinegar," she added. When she said that, everyone stopped drinking their tea and stared at the concoction with disgusted. "Oh my, I forgot the sugar and cream," Muriel said not noticing everyone's reaction. "I'll be right back dears," she said as she proceeded to the kitchen.

"She reminds me of a doting grandmother," Trevor said when Muriel left the room.

"Was your grandmother like Muriel, Trevor?" Sakura inquired.

"Well, actually she was-" then Trevor froze and looked down as if he was trying to remember something in a hurry.

"Trevor, is there something wrong?" Miranda asked worry sick about the keyblader.

The keyblader broke from his trance, shook his head, and gave a faux smile. "No, no, it's nothing," he said to put everyone at ease. "I was lost in thought, that's all."

"What I want to know," Kurogane said with his arms crossed, "Is where you got that sword."

"You mean Ginryû?" Miranda said as she held up her katana. "I got this from a witch named Yuko."

Syaoran, Sakura, and Kurogane gasped, Fai just closed his eyes and smiled. "I figured that was the case."

"What do you mean you figured that was the case?!" the ninja yelled at Fai.

"Well, Yuko is one of the few people who can help people travel between worlds, so it makes sense if these three visited her."

"Wait a minute; Yuko helped you travel between worlds too?" Miranda questioned.

"Damn right, and she gave you my sword!" Kurogane yelled at Miranda. "I told that witch I was coming back for the sword!!"

"And that staff that you have," Fai said to Bonkers, "used to belong to me."

"So why did all of you sought the witch?" Trevor asked.

The room fell silent for a moment before Fai spoke up. "Each one of us went the witch for different reasons, but right now we are seeking Sakura's feathers."

"Her feathers?"

"Yes," Sakura said a bit crestfallen. "Apparently, some time ago I lost all of my memories and they took the form of feathers. My feathers were scattered across different worlds and dimensions."

"I'm sorry," Trevor said, "And I thought I had problems."

"You don't have to worry about me," Sakura said with a smile. "I have Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona to help me."

Suddenly, there was a huge crash in the kitchen, followed by Muriel screaming. "COURAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she yelled and her faithful dog and everyone else ran toward door. The kitchen floor was cover with broken ceramics, and in the mist of the chaos was a pale looking schoolgirl wearing a green cape and an odd-looking green hat holding Muriel over her shoulder.

"She's a Bleak," Trevor said summoning his keyblade.

Mokona's eyes opened wide and went 'boink,' "Syaoran, that girl has one of Sakura's feathers!!"

The Bleak girl just looked toward Sakura. "So you are the owner of these feathers; Princess Sakura of the Clow Kingdom."

"You know who I am?" Sakura said shocked beyond belief.

"Of course, I absorbed one of your feathers. I afraid that I have that kidnapped this woman for a while." And with that, the Bleak opened a portal and teleported out of the kitchen.

"Blast, she got away," Trevor yelled angrily.

"MURIEL!!!!!" Courage cried in anguish.

"Mokona, where did that girl went," Syaoran asked when the white rabbit-like creature hopped on his shoulder.

"The girl with the feather is still in this world, but she far away." Mokona closed its eyes tightly and concentrate with all of its might. "The girl is in that direction," Mokona said as it pointed toward the west.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Trevor said as he rested his keyblade on his shoulders. "Let's save Muriel… Hey, where's Courage?"

Courage already was running to the west off to save his owner. "Hang on Muriel, I save you!!!"

The Bleak teleported herself and Muriel to an oddly shaped room filled with mirrors. The girl dropped the old woman unceremoniously on the floor and beckoned her to get up. "Why are ya doing this and where are we?" Muriel said frighten. "And you seem like a nice girl, why would you kidnap an old woman?"

"You can relax, I mean you no harm," the Bleak said in a cold, mechanic voice. "You are the only one who can help me, so I took you to this place."

"And where is this place exactly?" Muriel questioned.

"We are in a funhouse somewhere in an abandon carnival." She walked over to the entrance of a corridor and raise her hand as if she was about to touch an invisible wall. The moment her hand reach the entryway, a burst of energy reflected her hand and reveal a translucent barrier for a few seconds before disappearing. "As you can see, I cannot pass though this barrier for it refuses entry for those with darkness in their souls. You however, have very little darkness within you. Which means you get fetch me what I need beyond this barrier."

"I don't even know who ya are," Muriel simply stated.

"My name is Boogiepop…or rather; I'm just merely the remnants of Boogiepop." The Bleak turned to face the old woman. "Now I need you to go though that barrier and fetch me the feather that is stored somewhere in there."

"And what if I don't," Muriel asked.

"Then I'm afraid your family will have to suffer the consequences." Boogiepop warned.

Trevor, Courage, Syaoran, and the other pant heavily after they fought a legion of Possessors, a small 'pureblood' heartless made up of darkness. They traveled over twenty miles and encounter numerous of heartless; lucky for them they were small fry.

Mokona jumped from Sakura's arms and on to Syaoran's shoulders. "The feather is in there somewhere." The white creature pointed to a run down carnival that fallen into disrepair. Most of the rides rusted so bad that many of the contraptions' parts are falling off. Many of the stands were broken and tore into many pieces scattered around the fairground. Several rollercoaster rides were missing their parts of their tracks. As they wander the fairgrounds, Mokona wiggled its ears, much like someone adjusting an antenna to get a TV signal. "The feather's waves are coming from in there," Mokona pointed to a house of mirrors that looked it seen better days. The entrance to the house of mirrors was supposed to be a smiling clown's face, but due to years of wear and age, the once happy face now looked sinister and menacing. "Strange," Mokona stated. "It feels like there are _two_ feathers in there."

"Two birds, one stone, huh?" Kurogane said as put his katana on his shoulders.

Courage shivered at the sight of the house of mirrors, but Sakura placed a comforting hand on his head. "Don't worry," she said. "We will help you rescue your owner."

As expected, the house of mirrors was a labyrinth of fun mirrors and confusing turns. Before long, all of them made it to a large, open room where the Bleak, Boogiepop, was staring down a corridor as if she was waiting for something to happen.

"We finally found you," Trevor said as he summoned his keyblade. "Where's Muriel?"

The Bleak turned around and Trevor managed to get a good look at her. She was a high school-aged girl wearing a sailor fuku school uniform under beneath her cape, while her strange hat had five strange emblems on it. However, the creepy thing about the girl was the fact that both her face and her eyes showed no emotion whatsoever.

"Let me ask you again," the keyblader warned, "Where's Muriel?"

"Do you really wish to fight me?" Boogiepop deadpanned. "Even though we are on the same side?"

This statement thrown everyone's mind in a loop, they weren't quite sure what to make of the Bleak's words. Another thing that threw them off was the fact that even though the Bleak look like a high school girl, she spoke like a woman twice her age.

"What kind of crap are you trying to pull?" Trevor demanded. "How are we on the same side?"

"I wasn't always this way," Boogiepop began. "This condition was force upon me three months ago and now I am forced to hunt for these feathers if I wish to stay in this plane of existence."

"I afraid we don't understand," Fai said readying his darts for attack.

"We Bleaks must absorb the hearts and souls of others in order to live. Our feeding also serves another purpose, for every heart and soul we absorb we grow in power. I, however, cannot prey upon the innocent, so I seek out these feathers, which are fragments of a heart. By absorbing them I don't have to harm an innocent person."

"Those feathers belong to Princess Sakura!" Syaoran yelled. "By absorbing them you are hurting her!"

"Not directly," Boogiepop said in her usual monotone voice. "The princess will live if two or three of her feathers are missing."

"So that's your reason for stealing some girl's feathers?" Kurogane said as he unsheathed his sword. "So you can continue to live this pathetic existence?"

"No," Boogiepop said. "The main reason for me to collect these feathers is to increase my power. By absorbing a few more feathers, I may have enough power to defeat whoever is creating the Bleaks. That is why I say I am on your side."

Needless to say, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda were stunned. Could this Bleak really be telling the truth? Does she really want to put a stop to the Bleaks?

"I don't understand," Miranda said trying to grasp the Bleak's point. "Why turn your back on your own kind? And who are creating the Bleaks?"

"It's like I said before, I wasn't born a Bleak, and this condition was forced upon me just like it was forced upon everyone else who is a Bleak. As far as who is causing this I don't know. But I can sense them, they are powerful and they exist in some pocket dimension unreachable by normal means. That's why I need the feathers, so I can become strong enough to break through that dimension and defeat them."

"So why kidnap Muriel?" Syaoran demanded.

"Unfortunately, the feather in this world is protected by a barrier that refuses entry for those with darkness in their souls. I am a Bleak and by definition, I'm a wandering, dark soul. Therefore, I need someone to fetch the feather for me if I am going to complete my goal." Out of the blue, there was a huge flash from the corridor behind Boogiepop. The Bleak looked over her shoulder, still with no emotion on her face. "The barrier dissipated. Muriel must have found the feather." She looked back over to the others you were still in their fighting poses, ready for attack. "All of you can join me. Together, we stand a much greater chance in defeating our mysterious foe."

"No way," Trevor stated. "Even if you are telling the truth, I don't approve of your methods. Surely, there's another way you could do this."

"There is no other way," the Bleak deadpanned. With the snap of her fingers, she summoned a small army of Dusk. "It's a shame. Ours goals would have been completed much sooner." She turned and preceded the corridor not looking back even once.

The whole group (with the exception of Sakura and Mokona) fought the Nobodies. Even Courage pulled out his yo-yo and joined the brawl. There was no end in sight, for every Dusk that was defeated, two more will appear and take its place. It didn't help that the Dusk was using their odd movements to evade attacks.

"Dammit, there's too many of them," Kurogane complained as he slice four Nobodies with his sword.

"Well, that's a first," Fai laughed as tossed three darts at the head of his target. "I thought I will never hear you complain about fighting an enemy."

The ninja raise his sword and smirked, "I'm not complaining, just stating a simple fact." As he brought his sword down on two more Nobodies he shouted to everyone else in the group. "Hey! You kids chase after that Bleak-thing and rescue the old woman. Me, Miranda, and Fai will stay here and take care of these pests."

"Are you sure?" Syaoran asked as he unleashed a flying knocking out two Dusk.

"Yeah I'm sure, NOW GET OUT OF HERE!!!!" Syaoran nodded to Trevor and Trevor nodded back. Syaoran grabbed Sakura's hand while Trevor grabbed Mokona and Courage, and together, with Bonkers, they ran down the corridor that Boogiepop walked down a few minutes earlier.

"So, any reason why you want me to stay by your side?" Miranda asked as she finished her combo.

"If you are going to wield that sword," Kurogane began, "then you must learn how to use properly."

"What is this, a crash course on sword fighting?" Miranda chuckled as she dodged an attack.

"Something like that…," Kurogane smirked.

As Trevor ran down the corridor, he felt something deep inside him. At first, he just brushed it off as nerves, but as time went on he slowly realize it was anticipation. A part of him actually yearned for the upcoming battle. The keyblader started to fear that there were two sides of him, he was starting to fear if Tia Dalma's prophecy would come true.

"Up ahead," Syaoran's voice broke Trevor's contemplation.

Down the twisting hallway, the keyblader could see another huge open room. "She's in there," Trevor said as he summoned his keyblade.

"How can you be so sure?" Syaoran questioned still holding Sakura's hand.

"I-I can sense her," Trevor hated to admit it, but there's no denying it. _I developed the power to sense Bleaks._

"The feathers are in the room ahead," Mokona confirmed.

Syaoran nodded and turned his head toward Sakura's. "We're going to get your feathers come for you, Princess. Just hang on a little longer."

In the large open room, Muriel stood before a small end table. Floating three inches from the table was the feather in question, trapped inside a bubble. The plump woman slowly walked toward the table, stepping on broken glass on way. Muriel didn't like being here, she didn't like this room filled with broken mirrors or the fact that she had to do this for someone who threaten her and her family. At first she hesitated, questioning if she is doing the right thing. She reached out of hand and touched the floating bubble. On contact, the bubble burst and the feather floated to the palm of her hand.

_All this fuss over a feather,_ Muriel thought. The feather gave off a radiant glow, specially the markings on it, which resemble a heart. "Why is such a pretty, little feather so important?"

"That is not for you to know." Muriel turned abruptly and saw Boogiepop enter the room. The Bleak held out her hand like a needy child, "Now give me the feather."

Muriel clutched the feather close to her chest, trying to keep her distance for the Bleak. "Not before ya tell me what ya goin' to do with it," she said in her rough Scottish accent. "Ya not planning to harm people with it, are ya?"

Boogiepop's face remained impassive. "Harm will only fall upon those who truly deserve it, now give me the feather."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!!!" Boogiepop slowly turned her head and saw Trevor, Syaoran, Bonkers, and Courage coming at her. "Let Muriel go," Trevor said pointing the keyblade at her, meaning business.

"MURIEL!!!!!" Courage wailed afraid of the safety of his owner.

"Courage, help me." Muriel said trying to distance herself from the Bleak.

"It's not too late," Boogiepop stated. "We can all band together and stop this otherworldly threat."

"No chance," Syaoran stated, "We're here to save Muriel and to get Sakura's feathers back."

"Then I'm afraid you made the wrong choice," Boogiepop launched her razor floss, a sharp monofilament wire attached to a small blade, at the keyblader.

Trevor dodged the wire, but only by mere centimeters. Imagine the keyblader's surprise when the wire came back around and started wrapping itself around him. "What the heck?!" Trevor wheezed as he struggled. But the more he tried to fight against it, the tighter the wire squeezed around him.

Before Boogiepop could unleash her finishing move on Trevor, Courage launched his yo-yo at Boogiepop's head causing her to loosen her grip on Trevor. The keyblader cut the wire and charged at the Bleak. The Bleak manage to block Trevor's attack with her left arm, but failed to notice Syaoran coming up behind her with a spinning back kick. When the kick connected, Boogiepop was sent flying around the room toward Bonkers. Bonkers was already chanting to gather mana to perform a spell. The bobcat lifted his staff toward the Bleak and shouted, "Aeroga!" trapping Boogiepop in a cyclone. While the Bleak was trap in the miniature whirlwind, Trevor and Syaoran unleashed several devastating attacks on her. The finishing blow came from no other than Courage, who jumped up high in the air and landed a damaging blow from his yo-yo.

Boogiepop lay panting on the floor struggling to get up, but the damage was already done. She was quickly dissipating and struggled to stay in this realm of existence. "You fools," she coughed. "We could've made a great team…" In a giant wisp of smoke, Boogiepop left the living realm and all that remain was one of Sakura's feathers.

Syaoran walked over and picked up the glowing feather. He walked over to Princess Sakura and smile gently at her. "See, I promised you I would find you feather."

"You always do," Sakura said smiling back at him. Her body absorbed the feather then and then she slipped into unconsciousness. Lucky, for her Syaoran was there to catch her before she fell.

"Is she alright?" Trevor said concern of the princess' wellbeing.

"She's fine. This always happens when she absorbs one her feathers," Syaoran explained. He then turned his attention toward Muriel who was currently hugging Courage. "Sorry ma'am, but I'm afraid we need that feather."

"Here ya go, dearie," the old woman gave feather the teen, who then gave it to the still unconscious Sakura. The princess absorbed that feather like the last one when Kurogane, Fai, and Miranda showed up.

"So the fights over, huh?" Kurogane said a little disappointed.

"I'm afraid so," Syaoran said trying to carry the sleeping princess over his shoulders.

"Blah, I hoped to test my strength on that girl."

"Now that there's no more feathers in this world, it's time for us all to move on to the next one," Mokona said as it leapt in the air and grew wings. The magic rabbit-like creature opened its mouth and began to inhale Princess Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai.

"Trevor, I just wanted to say," Syaoran said before he vanished into Mokona's mouth, "Thank for all your help."

Before Trevor could respond the four travelers turned into wisps of magic and entered Mokona's mouth before it too vanish in a puff of magic.

"Well, today has been quite an adventure now hasn't it?" Muriel said as she dusted herself off.

"Yes, it has…wait, are you two glowing?" Trevor notice that both Courage and Muriel was giving off a soft golden glow. All three of them were teleported to the place of endless clouds as Courage and Muriel transformed into the keyhole of the world. The keyblader locked the world and watched as everything slowly returned to normal.

Muriel and Courage transformed back into their normal selves awestruck by the experience. "Oh my!" Muriel exclaimed. "What just happened?"

"This world has been locked," Trevor explained as he rested his keyblade on his shoulders. "The heartless won't bother you anymore." He then turned to Bonkers and Miranda, both of them sitting looking like bored children in a waiting room. "What's the matter with you two?"

Miranda sighed, "You know we are in the middle of Nowhere. How on earth are we supposed to get back to the populated side of the universe?"

"Well, that's easy. But I'm afraid I don't like the answer." The keyblader bit his lower lip. "We would have to use the Infinite Improbability Drive again."

Bonkers bounced up and down excitedly, clapping his hands while Miranda just lean back and sighed heavily. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

**KH-KH-KH**

Somewhere in a far off world, Kimihiro Watanuki finished cooking dinner for his employer, Yuko the Time-Space Witch. The truth was that Yuko didn't hire him, but is forced to work for her to pay off his debt. He usually complains about the situation that his is in, but over time, he began to somewhat enjoyed working for the witch.

"Sorry that the phoenix feather almost burned you today, Watanuki," Yuko said playful as she was served Ikameshi.

Okay, so maybe 'enjoy' was too strong a word. Maybe 'tolerate' or 'being able to put up with the craziness that surrounds Yuko's shop' would be a better choice of words.

"Sorry?!" Watanuki yelled almost hysterically. "That thing also burned me alive!!!!!"

"You worry about the details too much," Yuko said calmly as she took a sip of her favorite sake. "You need to learn how to loosen up. I bet you Himawari-chan would like you better if you do."

"Ahh, Himawari-chan," Watanuki said with a dreamy look in his eyes. Just thinking about the love of his life was enough to make him feel warm all over. However, a fleeting thought knocked him out of his reverie. It was something he had on his mind ever since he and Yuko visited that world. "Yuko-san, I have a couple of questions about the time we visited that world."

"Oh?" the witch said as she lowered her shot glass and began to refill it.

"When you were collecting the prices for Trevor and the others, you gave weapons to that blonde lady and that cat creature. Isn't that against the rules? I thought that just reciprocity must happen if a wish is granted. It seems to me that you gave them a little more than they received."

"Is that so?" Yuko flash an all-knowing smile toward Watanuki before she began explaining. "If you want to get technical about it, Miranda and Bonkers wish wasn't to travel between worlds, but to complete their mission effectively without disturbing the world order. Some worlds don't even have the technology to make guns, but nearly all worlds have the capability to produce swords and have some sense of magic."

"That means the payment for the ship…"

"All came from Trevor. You notice that Trevor's payment was 'harsher' than the one I gave Syaoran's group."

"Yes, I have noticed."

"Since Miranda's and Bonkers' wish technically was different from Trevor's, and the enormity of the wish, I was forced to demand a higher payment. Lucky for him it was pay three times."

"What?! Three?!"

"You see, Trevor isn't like normal humans; two beings dwell inside his heart. Whenever Trevor makes a payment, they are forced to make a payment as well."

"I see… That makes perfect sense, I suppose… But hey, wait a minute!! What about the sandy blonde kid?"

"What are you blabbing about?" Yuko said as she poured herself another round. "What sandy blonde kid?"

"Before we left the world, you gave advice to a blonde guy with sandy hair! Why didn't you make him pay a payment?!"

"Oh, _him_," Yuko closed her eyes and took a sip. "When Trevor made his payment it also covered that guy's payment as well."

"FINE!! Be cryptic about it!" Watanuki gathered the empty plates and carried them off to the kitchen to be wash. Before one dirty dish hit the water, he made a mental connection that he had not before. "Wait a minute… The sandy blonde guy… He looks exactly like…"

**Next Chapter: Shake Your Groove Thang!**

**Miranda's log updated!**

**New Characters:**

Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Chicken From Outer Space(cartoon short 1995)

Muriel Bagg: The Chicken From Outer Space(cartoon short 1995)

Eustace Bagg: The Chicken From Outer Space(cartoon short 1995)

The Computer: Courage the Cowardly Dog(1999)

Syaoran: Cardcaptor Sakura(manga 1996)

Princess Sakura: Cardcaptor Sakura(manga 1996)

Kurogane: Both _Tsubasa _and _XXXHolic_(manga 2003)

Fai: Both _Tsubasa _and _XXXHolic_(manga 2003)

Mokona: Magic Knight Rayearth(manga 1993)

Boogiepop: Boogiepop Phantom(2001)

**A/N: Well, it would seem that the mystery surrounding Trevor is deepening. By the way, the sandy blonde person that Watanuki was talking about is the same sandy blonde guy that appeared in one of the murals in the prologue. Anyway, thanks for reading and remember to review!**


	10. Shake Your Groove Thang!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 9: Shake Your Groove Thang!**

In a particular section of the universe, a wormhole a nothingth of an inch long opened up and released two dozen lawyers, hurling them into the depths of space. So how can such a thing happen, you ask? The answer is simple; the Infinite Improbability Drive was activated, causing the improbable to become possible. The Heart of Gold screamed back into existence closing the wormhole behind it. Although everything outside the ship was normal, inside the ship was another story. The ship's cabin transformed was transform into a music stage with Christina Aguilera singing an eerie prophecy to Trevor. The pop star began dancing to a techno/hip-hop beat as she relay the message to the keyblader.

She sang:

"_Listen well, my young keyblader, listen to the words of this song._

_Know well indeed that sometimes the heart can be wrong._

_I ain't no prophet, no soothsayer, or oracle, but please heed these words._

_Don't believe what I have to say is only for the birds._

_Beware of your friend, your other, and yourself._

_Failure to let go of the past causes many to lose themselves._

_Baby, a man like you needs his woman, find strength in her heart._

_Though it seems like it, both of you are never far apart!"_

Background dancers suddenly appeared signaling that the chorus was drawing near. Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers looked on in bewilderment as they sync up their dancing moves with the pop star.

Christina continued to sing:

"_If you want your answers, you'll have to go Beyond the Kingdom._

_It is there where you will finally find your freedom._

_Wanting to bring back lost souls is no justification,_

_For destroying the homes of others just because they're manifestations."_

The stage reverted back into the cabin, and with a nod and a wink, Christina Aguilera vanished in a puff of smoke. "We reached a probability factor of one to one!" Eddie the computer said brightly. "I repeat; we have reach normality!"

"Eddie…," Miranda said very calmly. "I thought you said if we activated the proofing screens we don't have to deal with the improbable."

The ship's computer quickly analyzed every component of the proofing screen program, before arriving to a conclusion. "It would seem that the proofing screens encountered an error in its programming causing it to fail, sorry gang."

"I knew we should've gotten an Apple instead of a PC," the cartoon bobcat complained snapping his fingers.

Trevor just hung his head low and rubbed his temples. "Eddie, just tell us where we are."

The main computer screen displayed a world covered in thick jungles with temples and ruins spread out along the surface. "My databanks are telling me that this is Kuzcotopia. A world famous for its exotic cuisine, such as spinach puffs!"

"Any heartless activity?" Miranda inquired.

"Tons. In fact, I'm picking up a whole horde of heartless concentrated on one location."

The three travelers looked at one another; this was definitely not a good sign. "Eddie," Trevor said getting up, "beam us down immediately."

"You're the boss!" and with that, Eddie teleported them in the middle of a battle.

"Damn that computer!" Trevor said as he dodged a sword attack from an Invisible. "I hoped that it would teleport us a few feet from the heartless, not in the middle of the nest."

Miranda athletically jump over a charging Dustflier and destroyed it with one hit. "Wow Miranda," Bonkers whistled. "When have you become such an expert swordsman?"

"Kurogane taught me a couple of useful technique during our time in Nowhere," the blonde swordswoman huffed as she destroyed three more heartless.

"No, don't do it!" said a whiny voice somewhere in the midst of the heartless horde. "I'm too pretty to die!" The three warriors turned around and saw a red and black llama cowering behind a large man wearing a green poncho. "Pacha, do something!" the talking llama continued.

"I'm doing the best that I can!" Pacha said fending off the heartless with nothing, but a pitchfork.

"We gotta help those two," Bonkers said as he dodged an attack from a Neoshadow.

"Yeah, but how?" Miranda asked as she performed a horizontal slice on a Mega Shadow. "In order to destroy these many heartless we need speed and expert timing."

A brilliant idea hit Trevor, "Miranda, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"No, not that again," Miranda groaned.

"It is the only way."

Miranda thought for a minute as she fought two Air Soldiers. "…Fine, do it."

The keyblader focused all of his power and released it in one burst. "_Buccaneer Drive Form!!!_" he yelled as he and Miranda fused together.

When the transformation was complete, Trevor summoned the Follow the Wind keyblade and started hacking away the Heartless with the keyblade. Bonkers provided supportive magic such as Shell and Protect to boost Trevor's defense. After the last Heartless was destroyed, Trevor and Miranda separated and went over to Pacha and the talking llama.

"Are you two all right?" Trevor asked. "Why were the heartless after you?"

"They were after them, because I sent them," said a cartoonish voice high above the trees. Then, a medium sized, blue lump fell from the canopy and landed with grace.

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers were in shock at the sight that lay before them: a creature wearing a blue cloak.

"I take it, you work for the Forsaken?" Trevor said pointing his keyblade at the creature.

The creature twitched its absurdly long tail, "Indeed I do, Trevor Birch. But one doesn't work for the Forsaken, think of it as merely a support group." The hooded creature removed its blue cloak to reveal its true appearance to the world. If it wasn't odd enough that the creature had a seven-meter long tail, the talking animal resembles a monkey, but has a face like a dog and the fur pattern of a leopard.

"Who or what are you?!" Trevor said backing away a little.

"Marsupilami," the hodgepodge animal said simply.

"Is that what you are or who you are," Pacha asked warily.

"Both," Marsupilami admitted.

"Well, any way you slice it, he is still a freak," the llama spat. "I mean, who on earth would want to kill me, the beloved Emperor Kuzco?"

"YOU'RE AN EMPEROR?!!!" Miranda yelled in surprise.

"Duh. Notice my regal appearance despite being trap in this horrid body."

"Our adventure gets weirder and weirder," Trevor said in a sigh. The keyblader turned his attention back on Marsupilami. "How on earth do you know my name?"

"The Forsaken taught me many things; include what to do to bring back my world and how to deal with annoying pests like you."

"Well, I have news for you," Trevor warned aiming his keyblade at the animal, "This pest is going to wipe the floor with you."

Marsupilami folded his arms and smirked. "He told me you might act like this, too bold for your good." From behind him, Marsupilami pulled out an insignia that has, what appears to be, a family crest. The emblem was a shield with three keys crossing each other on it. At the bottom of the keys was an unrolled scroll, to the right of them a partly sheathed sword, and to the left a regal lion. "Our leader told me to show this to you, so you know who he is."

Nothing registered for Trevor; he never seen that emblem before and can't imagine who would be looking for him. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

Marsupilami cocked his head to the side; he was confusing by the keyblader's answer. "I don't understand…"

"Let me spell it out for you," the keyblader said extremely ticked off. "I. Don't. Know. What. That. Thing. Is."

The long-tailed creature sighed and closed his eyes. "I wonder how come you don't remember. Is it amnesia, repressed memories, or just plain denial? You know, for the people like you and me, our memories of our _true_ homes are our only proof we have that we exist. … Ah, screw it."

The hodgepodge creature then lifted up his right hand and exerted a powerful dark energy. Everyone was surprised by Marsupilami's power, especially Trevor whose face turned white. _So much power…_, Trevor thought, _His power even rivals the Bleaks!_

"You know our leader told me to bring you back alive," Marsupilami continued, "but I decided to kill you anyways. I could always say it was an accident." The creature closed its fist and two deep purple metal gauntlets appeared on both his hand. "The only one who ever beaten me in a fight was Maurice and you're not even half the primate he was!" The creature slammed both his fist to the ground causing a huge tremor for over eight miles. Pacha and Kuzco held on to a tree, while Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers were struggling to stay on their feet. "I got this," Miranda yelled and charged toward the attacker. Marsupilami however, curled his tail into a ball and punched Miranda in the gut sending her flying across the battlefield. Lucky for her, Pacha managed to catch her.

"Looks like it's up to us Bonkers," Trevor said as he readied his keyblade. Bonkers silently nodded his head and started gathering mana. "When I give the signal, launch a Blizzard spell at me." Before Bonkers could protest, Trevor launched himself toward Marsupilami.

"Your friend already tried that trick, it doesn't work," Marsupilami mocked as his gather dark energy in his gauntlets. In rapid succession, Marsupilami continuously punched in the direction of the keyblader releasing a blast of energy with every punch. With great skill and speed, Trevor dodged every blast as if it was nothing. _Something's wrong here_, Marsupilami thought, _Zackary didn't mention that Trevor have this much skill!_

Then Trevor did something that puzzled Marsupilami, the keyblader jumped ten feet in the air. "Bonkers! Now!" Trevor shouted. Bonkers twirled his staff in the air and then launched the Blizzard spell in the air as instructed. Trevor allowed the spell to hit his keyblade as he dash down toward Marsupilami for an aerial attack. "Limit Breaker: **Blizzard Raid!!!**"

Marsupilami lifted his right gauntlet to block the attack, but the moment the keyblade touched it, the gauntlet froze over and shattered into thousands of pieces. _How is this possible? _the creature's mind raced for answers. _He shouldn't have this much power._ He curled up his tail into a ball and tried to hit the keyblader, but Trevor only block the attack and perform a flying back flip to distance himself from his attacker. Marsupilami looked into Trevor's eyes and saw that they were slowly turning black. _I see, so he is one of __them__._ _Darn it, I don't have the power to defeat a being like him yet!_

"I hate to fight and run," Marsupilami announced, "But I'm afraid I overstayed my welcome. But make no mistake," the creature pointed toward Kuzco. "I will have your heart; you can take that to the bank." He transformed his tail into a giant spring and launched himself through the trees shouting "Houba!"

Trevor let out a sigh of relief as he made his keyblade disappear. He was still tense, but at least the battle was over. As he turned around to check on the others, he felt a little lightheaded. "Trevor, are you alright?" Miranda asked in concern. Trevor held up his hand to gesture that he was all right, but he fainted soon afterwards. "TREVOR!!!!" Bonkers, Miranda, Pacha, and Kuzco rushed to Trevor's side. "Trevor, speak to me!" Miranda pleaded. "Trevor? TREVOR!!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor slowly regained his vision and quickly noticed that he was not where he was supposed to be. He realized that he was no longer in the jungle, but in an urban environment. He quickly recognized this place; his was just outside the downtown mall near his college.

He was back on his home world.

Before the keyblader could think how this was possible, he heard a roar and turned his head to see a giant, seventeen-foot gecko heartless. He tried to summon his keyblade, but it was already in his hand.

He looked at the keyblade closely. _This isn't my keyblade_, he thought. This keyblade was dark blue, oppose to his brass keyblade. The stem of the keyblade resemble a long, rolling wave that was about to break, the teeth was a spiral seashell, and the guard of the weapon looked like two crab claws. The name _Enigmatic Sea_ flashed in his mind.

The heartless emitted a second roar and launched hundreds after hundreds of needle projectiles at him. Trevor managed to dodge everyone, but something felt off. He wasn't as fast or as powerful as he once was. "Have a taste of your own medicine, buddy!" Trevor turned around and saw a talking rabbit in an orange jumpsuit waving a magic wand around.

"Terror of the Cactaur: **1,000 Needles!**" As soon as the rabbit cast that spell, more needles appeared but this time headed for the heartless.

"That was some nice blue magic casting there, Mr. Whiskers." Trevor turned to his right and saw a gray-blue otter holding a sword with runes on it.

_What is going on?_ Trevor thought wildly. _Who are these guys and how did I end up back here? _Before the keyblader had a chance to do anything, he tasted something bitter and putrid on his tongue and threw up.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor threw up on the hooves of Kuzco, who shriek a little. "Ewwww, Grrrroooooossssssss!!!!!" the llama said as wiped his hooves on the ground.

"Where am I?" Trevor questioned as he looked around like a paranoid man. "Where's the giant heartless?"

"Shh, shh, it's okay." Miranda grabbed Trevor by the face and tried to calm him down. "You passed out for a minute, but Pacha relived you with a special serum."

"The recipe has been in my family for years," Pacha said with pride. "Powerful enough to wake someone up from a coma."

"Well, did you have to use to whole bottle?" Trevor lamented as he slowly got up. "What a strange dream I had; I dreamt that I was back home."

"Well, I wish this was all a dream!" Kuzco spat. "Then I'll wake up in my soft bed, in my glorious bod, with a whole fleet of servants to carter to my every whim." The emperor turned llama turned a starting walking toward the jungle.

"Don't go in there!" Pacha warned. "The jungle is a dangerous place!"

"Not as half as dangerous as hanging with you clowns," Kuzco retorted.

"Kuzco, get back here!!"

"I'm not listening," the emperor said being childish. "La-la-la." And with that, he disappeared in the thick of the jungle.

Pacha slapped his forehead and groaned heavily. "I can't allow the emperor to die in jungle."

"Don't worry, we will help you." Pacha turned and saw Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda heading into the jungle.

"Well thank you strangers, but I can't let you-" Trevor held up his hand to silence Pacha.

"Even though we just met as few minutes ago, Kuzco is now apart of our mission. You heard what Marsupilami said. He won't rest until he have Kuzco's heart." Trevor turned and smirked at Pacha. "And we cannot have that now, can we? Even if Kuzco's annoying as hell."

Pacha smiled and shook his head, "Okay then, let's find the emperor."

"Scary jungle, right. Oh, a leaf, it might attack me," Kuzco mocked sarcastically. "'Never find my way,' they said," Kuzco said disgusted. "Please I'm the emperor. I can't get lost in my own kingdom." The human-turned-llama stopped and looked around. "Okay, now where am I?"

From all around him, sounds of the night swirl in the air. It seemed like fierce eyes was staring at him from the bushes. And to add to the creepy mood, he witnessed a spider devouring a fly. "Okay, that was the freakiest thing I ever seen."

The bushes next to Kuzco started to rustle; the emperor was too frightened to move. As he expected to worse, from the bushes came a small squirrel. Kuzco breathed a sigh of relief and then spat, "What do you want?" The squirrel, seeing that the llama was lost and may be in need of food, offered its prize acorn to the emperor. "Ahh, for me?" Kuzco said in mock gratitude, "I don't know what to say." Kuzco threw the acorn back at the squirrel, "Hit the road, bucky."

As Kuzco turned to leave, he fell in a den of sleeping black jaguars. As the emperor looked for a place to escape, the squirrel from before came with a mischievous grin on its face. It pulled out a deflated balloon, filled it with air, made a balloon animal with it, and pulled out a needle. Kuzco realized the squirrel's plan, and whatever small part of him wished he was kinder to the squirrel was squished by the huge part of him that wanted to survive.

"No, no, no," Kuzco pleaded with eyes as big as dinner plates. The squirrel only nodded manically, drawing the needle closer to the balloon. "No, don't," the emperor silently pleaded, hoping to appeal to the squirrel's better nature again. The squirrel's grin grew wider and it popped the balloon.

Even though the popping of the balloon made a loud noise, the jaguars remained asleep. Kuzco seeing this said "Ah!!!!" in a loud, triumphant voice, but then covered his mouth when he realized what he did. His attempt to rectify his mistake came a moment too late. All the jaguars were now awake and threatening him with promises to rip him apart.

The emperor made a break for it, with dozens of vengeful jaguars tailing behind him. It was only now that Kuzco wished that he listened to Pacha. Kuzco came before a cliff and saw that he was trapped. _I can leapt to my doom or be torn apart by hungry jaguars_, the emperor thought as the large cats started to close in on him. As Kuzco was about to expect his fate, he heard someone call his name. "We're coming for you Kuzco!" Kuzco and the jaguars looked up and saw Pacha, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda swinging on vines. Unfortunately, for Kuzco, all four of them failed to grab Kuzco or knocked out the jaguars and continue to swing away from the emperor.

"You know, this plan worked better in one of my cartoons," Bonkers said.

"Let's try this again," Trevor said as he and the others turned around to try to save Kuzco once more.

This time Pacha was more successful by grabbing Kuzco. "Don't worry your highness, I got ya. You're safe now."

"And we are here to back him up," Trevor added. The moment those words left Trevor's mouth, Pacha and Kuzco hit a tree trunk, sticking out of a cliff and Pacha's vines tied both of them to the tree trunk. "That…wasn't suppose to happen…" The next moment, Trevor, Miranda and Bonkers also got tangled in their vines and all three of them were tied to a tree next to Pacha and Kuzco.

"Maybe I'm just new to this whole rescuing thing, but this, to me, might be considered a couple of steps backwards. Don't ya think?" Kuzco said.

"No, no, no. This is just a minor setback," Pacha said thinking quickly trying to figure out a way out of this situation. "We can figure this out together."

Suddenly there was a huge snap and both trees made a downward ten-degree angle. "I hate all of you," Kuzco simply stated.

Both trees broke off from the cliff and fell toward the river below. Our heroes were tossed around and bashed against the rocks in the rapids. After a few moments things settled down, but they were still tied to the logs.

"I don't know about all of you," Kuzco spat at his rescuers, "but I'm getting all fun out."

Everyone just rolled his or her eyes. Pacha and Bonkers, who faced downstream, looked ahead of them and saw that they were about to fall off a huge waterfall. "Oh-no," Pacha said.

"Don't tell me," Kuzco said. "We are about to go over a huge waterfall."

"Yep," Pacha said.

"Sharp rocks at the bottom?" Trevor asked.

"Most likely," Bonkers said.

Kuzco narrowed his eyes and braced himself, "Bring it on."

All of them went over the waterfall and crashed on the water below. Lucky for them the logs and the vines ripped apart on impact, freeing them. All of them washed up ashore panting, drenched, and tired.

"We might as well camp here tonight," Pacha said. "It's getting late and it's dangerous to traveling at night."

"Well, if you done as I told you, we wouldn't be in this mess," Kuzco spat. "The next morning you will take me back to the palace, Yzma will change me back, and I will tear down your house to build my fabulous summer home."

"What!" Trevor yelled as he got up in a start. "Is this what this journey's about?! You want to evict the man, who just saved your life, so you can bring a summer house that you don't even need?"

"Duh, I'm the emperor. I can do anything that I want."

Trevor threw his hands up in the air. "People today," he cursed.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot here," Pacha said as he tried to start a campfire.

"Uh-huh," Kuzco said half-listening drawing the number 42 in dirt.

"I know if you really think about, you will build your home on a different hill. Deep down I think you realize that you are forcing an entire village to leave their homes just for you."

"And that's….bad?" Kuzco looked at Pacha questionably.

"Duh, of course it's bad!" Trevor said. "That's being selfish beyond reason. Nobody that's heartless…expect the Heartless themselves. I mean, how can you be this way? All you seem to care about is building a summer house and filling it with stuff for you."

"Ah yeah, doh, me. Everyone in the kingdom gets it, expect you four. All of you need to get with the program."

Pacha looked at the llama with disgust and pity, "You know, one day you will be all alone and you will have no one to blame, but yourself."

"Thanks for that piece of information Captain Letdown. I will log that away and for the final time I order all of you to take me back to the palace."

"You can't give us that order," Miranda said. "Me, Trevor, and Bonkers aren't apart of your kingdom."

"As for me, it looks like you're stuck out here, because unless you change your mind I'm not taking you back to the palace," Pacha said with authority.

This shocked Kuzco, how dare these peasants defy their beloved emperor! "Fine," he spat as he sat down in a corner. "I'm going to sleep and when I wake up you will take me back," and with that, Kuzco lay down and when to sleep.

Miranda shook her head and sat next to Bonkers who was roasting marshmallows over the campfire. "Do you think he will ever change?" she asked.

"For my village's sake, I hope so," Pacha said as he stared into the campfire.

Early next morning, everyone went to the river to wash their faces. Kuzco quietly sat next to Pacha while everyone ignored him. "Hey," the emperor finally said. The other mumbled a short greeting and continued washing their faces. "So I was thinking that when I get back to the city, we will… I mean…well, there are a lot of hilltops and…."

Pacha was shocked, "Wait are you saying you will build your summer home elsewhere?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Pacha stuck out his hand and looked Kuzco dead in the eye. "Don't shake unless you mean it."

Kuzco looked at Pacha's hand for a minute and then took his hoof and shook Pacha's hand. Miranda hugged Kuzco and Trevor patted him on the back. "Well let's get you back to the palace," Pacha said. "And thank you."

When all four of them were out of earshot, Kuzco uncrossed his left hoof. "No, thank you."

The five travelers reached a rickety, old bridge and began to cross it. "Once we cross this bridge, we will reach the palace in an hour," Pacha said with enthusiasm. When they reach the middle of the bridge, Pacha, Miranda, Bonkers, and Trevor fell through and became entangle in the vines beneath the bridge.

"How many times this has happen to us since we have arrived on this world?" Bonkers asked.

"One too many," Trevor said trying to climb up the vines with no success.

"Kuzco, help us!" Pacha pleaded.

Kuzco looked down on them amused, "No, I don't think I will. I was going to throw you guys in prison for life, but I kinda like this better."

"You backstabbing, little cheat!" Trevor spat.

"We shook hands on it!" Pacha yelled.

"The thing is," Kuzco started, "you need hands, not hoofs, to shake hands. Buh-bye." The next step the emperor took was the wrong one and like the others, he fell through and became entangle in the vines.

"You did this to yourself, you know," Trevor spat.

"Whatever, just get me out of this!" Kuzco complained as he struggled with the vines.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that we should've allowed Marsupilami to take Kuzco's heart," Miranda stated.

"I'm beginning to think the same thing," Trevor responded. "It would save us a lot of heartache."

"You know I can hear you," Kuzco said.

"We know," Trevor stated.

"How we are going to get out of here?" Pacha asked.

"How about if I use Aero to lift us out of here?" Bonkers suggested.

"Bonkers, that's brilliant!" Miranda praised.

"Well, what are you waiting for Bonkers, an invitation? Fire that spell up!" Trevor commanded.

Bonkers summon all the mana within him and cast the spell. A great gale surrounded the five of them and lifted them back on top of the cliff.

"Well, that was easy," Trevor said looking over the cliff. As soon as he said that, the piece of the cliff he was standing on started to break off. Before Trevor went over the edge, Kuzco grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

"Yeah, look at me and my bad self!" Kuzco gloated. "I snatch you right out of the air. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh."

"You saved me," Trevor said amazed.

"What's the big deal? Nobody's that heartless. Just don't read too much in to it, it was a one time thing."

"Well, let's get going," Pacha said standing up. "With the bridge out it is a four day walk to the palace."

"You are still going to help me?" Kuzco questioned.

"Of course, we shook hands on it."

"Unlike you, Pacha keeps his word," Miranda scolded.

"Well, I hope all of you realize that this doesn't change a thing. I'm still building my summer dream home."

"Well, who knows," Trevor shrugged. "Maybe you will change your mind along the way."

"Not likely," Kuzco laughed.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the world, Yzma and Kronk were searching frantically all over jungle. "We search ever village surrounding the palace and still no sign of Kuzco. Where is he?" Yzma paced around in a circle fanning flies away from her. "I _hate_ this jungle!" She looked over at a tree branch and saw a squirrel offering her acorn. "Get away from me!!!!" she yelled.

The squirrel run toward Kronk and cowered behind the muscular minion. "There, there, little buddy; she's acts like that to everyone."

"You're talking to a squirrel," Yzma scolded.

"I was a junior chipmunk scout, we are required to learn to converse with all the woodland creatures," Kronk said with pride.

Yzma rubbed her temples can't believed that her hired help was talking to a glorified rat. "Why me?" she cried.

"You know, it is not all about you. This little guy said he ran across a talking llama and-"

"A talking llama?!" Yzma said with renewed interested. "Where is this talking llama?"

"Put me in the middle why don't you," Kronk said. He turned to the squirrel to asked him, "Squeak-squeak-mcsqueaken?" The squirrel pointed to the east and Kronk and Yzma headed in that direction with renewed vigor.

"Low blood sugar, huh," Trevor said carrying Kuzco.

"Yeah, it's a curse," Kuzco said glad that he got a free ride.

"Well, there is a restaurant up ahead," Pacha said glad that he doesn't have to carry Kuzco.

"Good," Trevor said, "As soon as we get something to eat, you're walking the rest of the way."

When they reached the dinner, they dressed Kuzco like a woman so he can eat at the establishment. "The final indignity," Kuzco spat as they all waited for their food.

"Just be thankful that we didn't go with the baby costume," Miranda said drumming the table with her fingers.

The waitress brought five giant pill bugs to their table and left with complete indifference. Everyone expect for Pacha was disgusted with their food. "Well, dig in everyone," Pacha said as he crack the shell of the bug.

Trevor pushed his dish away and announced that his was going to the bathroom. Before he reached the bathroom door, he overheard a conversation two people were having at a table near the men's room. "We should have killed Kuzco when we had a chance," said Yzma staring daggers at the waitress who brought them to this table. "I hate eating at a table near the restaurant's restroom! People keep passing you by going to and fro from the bathroom, and you worry if they washed their hands and could the germs from the bathroom somehow get in your food. Oh, why did she bring us to this table?!"

"Pleasant conversion topic to have before lunch," Kronk said sarcastically.

Trevor continued into the bathroom, but continued to listen to their conversation from the other side of the door. _Did they say that they wanted to kill Kuzco?_ the keyblader thought as put his ear on the door.

"We need to find Kuzco and fast and before he returns to the palace, otherwise our whole plan is blown," Yzma continued. "Worse yet, I think Naraku knows that I am planning to take over the inter-circle."

Trevor almost had a conniption. _Did she just say Naraku? _he thought. _She's working for Naraku?_

"Yeah, tough luck with that," Kronk nodded sympathetically. "Especially when you have to go against that Light guy."

"I know," Yzma said as if she was talking to a friend she had not see in a long time. "He is so creepy, and that ability to kill anyone just by writing their name in a book." Yzma shivered a little. "It's just not natural, no one, not even us villains, should have that power."

The keyblader heard enough, he left the bathroom and head straight for his table, there wasn't a second to waste. Yzma looked at the keyblader puzzled. "Is there something wrong?" Kronk asked in concern.

Yzma just shook it off, "For a second there, I could have sworn that that person was a keyblader… But I must be imagining things."

Trevor went over to his table with urgency in his voice. "We need to leave, NOW!!"

"But I didn't finish my meal," Bonkers said pointing to a half-eaten giant pill bug.

"Well, get a doggy bag, cause we'll leaving now!" Trevor said dragging Miranda and Kuzco from the table.

Once outside, Trevor lead them to the back of the restaurant, where the keyblader could explain the situation.

"What is this all about Trevor?" Pacha asked.

"Who cares 'what is it about,' he saved us from that awful food," Kuzco spat.

"Kuzco," Trevor started like he was trying to calm the emperor down, but in reality he was trying to calm himself down. "There was an old woman and a beefy man in there who said they were trying to kill you."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Kuzco said half-understanding the keyblader. "Was this old woman scary beyond reason?"

"Oh yeah, and then some," Trevor said quickly nodding his head.

"That's Yzma and Kronk!" Kuzco cried in jubilation. "They could take me back to the palace and change me back into a human!"

Kuzco got up to go back inside the dinner, but Trevor blocked his way. "Kuzco, Yzma is not who you think she is. She's the one who put you in this situation. And if that wasn't enough she is working for Naraku."

This time, Bonkers and Miranda got up. "Are you sure?" Miranda asked, "Is this woman really working for Naraku?"

"Positive," nodded the keyblader.

"Then we need to get Kuzco to safety," Miranda paced around trying to think of some solutions. "We need to hide Kuzco in a safe place where Marsupilami and this Yzma can't get to him."

"How about my house?" Pacha offered. "My wife, Chaka, could look after him."

"Whoa, whoa, timeout," the emperor said backing away from the four of them. "I know what's going on here; you don't want me to go back to the palace."

"That's not it at all," Trevor stated. "We are trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" Kuzco sneered. "What it sounds like to me, is that you are trying to protect that horrible, small village! I'm afraid that your services are no longer required."

"Kuzco!" Trevor yelled, but it was too late. The emperor already left.

Kuzco made it to the front of the dinner when he saw Yzma and Kronk coming out of the dinner. "We need to kill Kuzco and fast!" Yzma complained. The emperor stopped dead in his tracks and hid in a nearby bush. "I should have known better than to trust you to poison Kuzco." Kuzco's mind raced, _Oh my god, Trevor was right! Yzma is trying to kill me!_

Yzma continued on, "This time we find Kuzco my way! No more relying on the directions of squirrels!" Yzma stretch out her hand and several small portals of darkness appeared. Out of these portals, several chihuahua-like heartless sprang forth. Their fur was a deep black and they had yellow, blank eyes. Their collars were purple and had the heartless emblem as a dog tag. "How are my babies doin'?" Yzma said to the heartless like a doting grandmother. "Who's goin' to help me find Kuzco? Who's goin' to help me find Kuzco?" The heartless bark and yip like mad, each one trying to please its master.

"Uh, Yzma? Could we, you know, hurry this along?" Kronk asked shyly. "I thought you were on a tight schedule?"

Yzma collected herself and coughed. "Yes, I suppose you're right." She took out a piece of clothing and allowed the heartless to sniff it. "This is a piece of clothing of the peasant that we believe is hiding Kuzco." She didn't even have to give out the order, the heartless quickly follow the road up the hilltop that lead up to Pacha's village. "Quickly Kronk, after them!" Yzma yelled following the heartless, "The game's afoot!"

When Yzma and Kronk were gone, Kuzco came out of the bushes. How could he been so blinded to the truth, so selfish… He looked up and saw Pacha and the others looking for him. They all breathe a sigh of relief when they saw that Kuzco was safe. "I'm sorry," the emperor spoke before anyone had a chance to. "You were right; Yzma _was and still is_ trying to kill me. And now she sent Heartless to search Pacha's house to-"

"She's after my family?!" Pacha yelled cutting Kuzco's apology short. "We got to save them!"

Trevor summoned his keyblade while Miranda and Bonkers readied their weapons. "Which way toward your house?" Trevor asked.

"Up this road," Pacha said already running toward his house.

Surprisingly, they made it to Pacha's house in no time at all. When they reach the front yard, they saw dozen of chihuahuas heartless yipping and clawing at the front door trying to get in.

"I'll take care of this," Miranda said unsheathing her sword. "Hama ryû-ô-jin!!!" she yelled releasing a wave of energy that destroyed all the heartless.

The front door opened and a pregnant woman came out brandishing a broom like it was a spear. She lowered the broom when she saw her husband. "Well, aren't you tardy to the party," she joked.

Pacha ran over and kissed her on the cheek, "Chaka, what happen?"

Chaka just waved off Pacha's concern like it was nothing. "Don't worry about it; we got things under control here. The kids and I locked that old bag and her friend in the closet."

"Let us out!" Yzma yell, "and we'll burn your house to the ground!!"

"Don't you mean '_or_ we'll burn your house to the ground?'" Kronk said trying to correct his boss.

Chaka just shook her head and then looked over toward Kuzco. "So that's Kuzco huh? Oh how the mighty have fallen."

"You're not earning any Kuzco-points here, missy," the emperor spat.

Chaka turned to her husband and kissed him on the head. "You and your friends hurry back to the palace and turn Kuzco to normal. The kids and I will stall the old bag as long as we can."

"You're the greatest," Pacha said as he kissed his wife.

Pacha, Trevor, and the others run off into the jungle to get to the palace in a hurry. "Are you sure it's okay to leave your family with Yzma?" Trevor asked confused.

"They can handle themselves, they got things under control. I don't know why I was so worry before," Pacha said as they ran through a clearing.

"But isn't it a four day walk to the palace?" Miranda asked getting her second wind. "How can we get there sooner?"

"You leave that to me," Trevor said twirling his keyblade. "**Hastega!!!**"

Thanks to the Hastega spell, the five of them made it to the palace in no time at all. They successful made it to Yuma's 'secret' lab unnoticed and undetected; expect for Trevor who was soaking wet and had a crocodile biting his leg.

"Why does she even that lever?!" the keyblader said as he hit the crocodile with his keyblade. The croc made a yipe and ran away whimpering like a frighten dog.

They search Yzma's potion cabinet only to turn up empty. "Where's the vile?" Kuzco panic, "Where the potion that will turn me human?"

"Looking for this?" said a voice from behind them.

The five of them turn around and saw that Yzma was, not only behind them, but holding a red potion as well. Besides her were both Kronk and Marsupilami, grinning like fools.

"How did you get here so fast?" Bonkers asked puzzled. "Weren't you locked in a closet?"

"They were, but I freed them and teleported them here," Marsupilami said pointing at Kuzco. "I told you Kuzco that I will be back. Your day of reckoning has come."

"And I will not only I will be empresses of this world, but of all worlds," Yzma crackled. "Just as soon as I steal that keyblade of yours, Trevor."

"You and what army?" Trevor retorted. "There's five of us and only three of you."

Yzma snapped her fingers and thousands of Zip Slasher heartless appeared behind. All of the heartless banish their duel swords as they prepare for battle. Yzma gave a triumphant grin, "How about this army?"

"I afraid it will take a lot more than that to defeat someone like him," Marsupilami said.

"Oh, and what do you suggest?" Yzma hissed irritated.

"This," Marsupilami climbed on top of Yzma's head and clapped his hands twice. The Zip Slashers burst into gray smoke and started to swirl around Yzma and Marsupilami in a huge tornado.

"Uh, being suck into a dark vortex of evil is not in my contract, so…I'm just going to leave now," Kronk said as he headed for the exit.

Out of the tornado came out a huge floating head and two huge floating hands. All three pieces were made out of yellow stone and on top of the head sat a crown with the heartless emblem on it.

"What is that thing?!" Trevor yelled.

"Looks like some sort of Incan Golem," Miranda reasoned.

"…." the Incan Golem moaned in both Yzma's and Marsupilami's voice.

"Ahhhh, protect me!" Kuzco said cowering behind Pacha.

The Incan Golem slammed its right hand on the ground causing a tremor, while its left hand shot lasers out of its fingertips. Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda dodge each attack with ease, but fail to close the distance between them and the heartless.

The Heartless opened its mouth and shot a huge energy beam at its attackers. Even though the beam didn't hit them, they received damage indirectly from flying debris.

_Use me…_, said a voice deep within Trevor's heart. _If you want to survive this fight, then summon my power!_

Trevor felt the dark energy building within him, it was giving him a much needed power boost, but he was hesitant to use it. He quickly thought about it and arrived at a solution. "Bonkers, Miranda! Get Pacha and Kuzco out of here, I'll take care of this Heartless myself."

"Not a chance!" Miranda said running over toward Trevor. "We will continue to fight along side you."

"Yeah," Bonkers said next to Trevor. "You're stuck with us, kid."

"For better or for worse," Miranda said extending out her hand. Trevor and Bonkers extended out their hands and together all three of them put their hands together. Trevor notice that the darkness was fading in his heart. It was as if he was receiving strength and support from both Miranda and Bonkers.

The Incan Golem didn't stop just because Trevor and the others took a timeout. It gathered energy in the palms of its hands and its mouth. After a few seconds, it released three beams that converged and formed a massive energy wave. Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda noticed the energy wave coming at them, and remain where they were and started pooling their mana together.

"Friendship protects all!!!" the three of them said together, "Trinity Limit: **Reflectga!!!!!!**" Mystical green runes appeared in the air and surround Trevor and his friends forming a barrier made up of complicated geometrical designs. When the energy wave hit the barrier, it bounced off it and headed back toward the Heartless. The golem was destroyed by its own attack and it released a giant crystal heart.

When the smoke cleared, they all heard coughing and noticed it was coming from a small, gray cat holding a vile. "Yzma?!!!" everyone said in shock.

"What the..? I've been turned into a cat?!!!" Yzma said in a chipmunk voice.

"Serves you right," Miranda scolded snatching the vile from the cat. "That's what you get for using powers beyond your understanding."

Trevor bent over the body of Marsupilami who was starting to dissipate. "Here…take this…," the creature handed the keyblader the family crest from before. Trevor got a closer look at the emblem and notice that at the top it says: _The Honourable Birch Family_. The keyblader was stunned; was this his family crest? Before Trevor could ask any questions, Marsupilami continued, "Sorry I tried to kill you….It's just…I just wanted to go home so badly…" With that, Marsupilami disappeared in a puff of gray smoke. Trevor sighed and put the crest in his pocket. Will he ever get any straight answers?

Miranda gave Kuzco the vile, and the emperor gladly expected it. "Finally," he said before he drank the contents. In a puff of red smoke, Kuzco became human again, wearing his red emperor robe and his golden crown. "Boom baby! I'm back!"

"So that's what you really look like," Miranda snorted with her arms crossed. "Some scrawny, weasel-looking thing."

"I guess I deserved that…," Kuzco said scratching the back of his head. He turned to Pacha to apologize, "Listen, Pacha, I'm sorry that I tried to destroy your village so I can build my ultra cool summer home. I was being selfish, could you forgive me?"

"Water under the bridge, your highness," Pacha smiled.

Suddenly Kuzco's crown started glowing brightly. "Whoa, what's happening?" Kuzco inquired.

"It means your crown is the keyhole to this world," Trevor said as he lifted up his keyblade. The crown transformed into a giant keyhole and Trevor locked the world. When the crown turned back to normal, the keyblader rested the keyblade on his shoulder. "It's time for us to get going."

"What?! Already," Kuzco said disappointed. "I was about to throw a huge feast in your honor."

"That's nice, but Trevor's right, we have other places to go," Miranda said.

The three of them said their goodbyes to Pacha and Kuzco and headed back for the Heart of Gold.

On the Heart of Gold, the three friends were glad to leave the jungle behind them and were ready for another adventure. "Eddie, head for the next world and this time don't use the Infinite Improbability Drive, am I right Miranda?" Trevor expected the female cop to agree with him, seeing how she absolutely hated the Improbability Drive, but she remain silent and stared at Trevor with concern.

"Trevor, we need to talk…" Miranda started.

"Uh, okay," Trevor said a bit confused.

"What's happening to you? Anything that Bonkers or I should be concern about?"

"Uh, no. I'm fine, Miranda, really. I don't know where this is coming fro-"

Miranda grabbed Trevor and slammed him against the wall. This shocked Trevor, he always forgets that Miranda is a cop. "Don't lie to us, Trevor! You fainted for no good reason a few days ago, and before that you summoned a dark keyblade that isn't yours."

Trevor looked in Miranda's eyes; they were so fierce, filled with determination...and also sadness. He realized he couldn't hide his condition any longer. "Alright, I'll tell you. But let me down first." Miranda let go of him and Trevor brush himself off a little. "The truth is I don't know what's happening to me, either. I keep hearing a voice-"

"A voice?" Miranda asked in concern.

"Well, it's not so much as a voice as it is an urge. Sometimes I feel a huge amount of dark energy build up in me and it wants to be release. Sometimes I can't control it, other times it's like it is not even there."

"Trevor, I had no idea…" Bonkers said mournfully.

"That's not all…; remember when Princess Sakura asked me about my grandmother?"

"Yeah," Miranda nodded wanting Trevor to go on.

"Well, the strangest thing happened, I couldn't remember her. Nor my father or mother. It's as if my whole past has been wiped clean. It is as if I just came into existence a year ago. I cannot remember anything before I went to college."

"Oh, Trevor…," Miranda hugged the keyblader and he hugged her back. Bonkers joined in making it a sorrowful group hug.

"What's happening to me?" Trevor asked them. Bonkers and Miranda remained silent.

They didn't have any answers for him.

**KH-KH-KH**

Somewhere in a far-off world, (Texas to be exact) the Forsaken were having a meeting in broad daylight. The group was made up of a hodgepodge collection of humans and animals, and yet, no one around them seemed to notice.

Why is this you ask? This is all because of the skills of Zackary. Zackary was a twenty-seven year old man with dark hair and piercing green eyes. He was six foot five, wore glasses, a white dress shirt, and black slacks. He had a curious look about him, even though he looked like a scholar he could easily have passed for a model. His every presence commands authority, his every moment controlled, cool, and suave. It was one of the many reasons why he was the leader of the group. A while ago, he cast a spell over him and his group so others won't notice that one member was a fox, the other was a dragon, or that they were watching a holographic image on the table conjured up by Zackary himself. It was perfect; they can conduct business without anyone giving them strange looks.

Hiding in plain sight.

The eatery that they were in, The Burnt Toast Diner it was called has its share of characters besides them. Two of the customers were two Asian males who speak fluent Japanese, rare in these parts. Their waitress was a strawberry-blonde young woman that seemed to be having a good time talking to one of the Asian men. Near the front of the diner, a man dress in dark clothes wearing a cap to cover his eyes, was staring at the waitress like a hungry cat does to a mouse. Zackary saw all of this around him and just shrugged it off as if nothing beyond his table was worth it.

The table that the Forsaken sat at was in fact three tables pushed together so that all eight members could eat together. Zackary sat at the head of the table, of course, as all of them watched Marsupilami's last breath in this mortal coil. He turned off the holographic image and looked every member in the eye. "Well?" he finally said in a voice like black velvet.

"The keybladers are ruining our plans," to the world the owner of the voice looked like a twenty year old British human male with dark brown hair, but to the Forsaken they saw him as he really was: a green dragon wearing a red helmet and a red and blue cloth shirt with the letter 'F' on the front. "Trevor, Sora, Cynthia…they are going to ruin us."

"Have you forgotten that I, myself, am a keyblader?" Zackary asked patiently.

"No disrespect to your kind, Zackary, but keybladers tend to stick their noses where they don't belong. I know Trevor is important to you, but we must get rid of him and the others before they become a threat."

"Exactly," said the young Japanese teen boy of the group who banged his fist on the table. "I won't allow these interlopers interfere with my plans to bring back my world so I can have revenge on my brother. They already killed three of our members; we need to nip this situation in the bud, now."

"Sasuke, you have nothing to worry about," Zackary said to the teen. "You will get your revenge in due time. As for you," he turned to the dragon. "If you ever suggest that we kill Trevor again, Flicker, we will expel you from the group like we did that green alien and his idiotic robot.

Flicker looked down at the table embarrassed; he did not want to be expelled like Zim and Gir. "I'm sorry sir, it won't happen again," he said softly in his British accent.

"What I'm more concern about," said a cruelly beautiful redheaded woman, "is Naraku and his cohorts. They seek the power of Kingdom Hearts and ultimately we also need Kingdom Hearts' power, do we not?"

"True," Zackary said, "But he is losing more members than we are. Let the keybladers handle him."

The strawberry-blonde waitress came over to their table with a perky smile on her face and a Texas twang in her voice. "Welcome to the Burnt Toast Diner, my name is Charlie and I will be your server today. Can I get you fellows anythang?"

"I will have some waffles," said a Japanese teenager a little older than Sasuke. He had huge spiky hair and crow wearing a red bandana perched on his shoulder.

"What is with you Japanese people and waffles?" Charlie joked. "Those guys over there ordered the same thing," she pointed to the two Japanese men sitting across the diner. The shorter of the two men noticed this and waved at Charlie with a huge grin on his face. "Hi Hiro!" Charlie yelled at the man. She turn her attention back to the party she was serving. "He's a real sweat guy, that Hiro. Aww, look at your bird." Charlie lightly scratched under the crow's beak. "You know this crow's scientific name is Corvus brachyrhynchos."

"But you can call me the _love doctor_, baby," the crow said, but due to Zackary's spell all that Charlie heard was a 'kaa.'

"And what can I get you?" Charlie said to Flicker.

"Oatmeal, if that is alright."

"Oh my god, you're British! Well, this town is turning into a world's fair. Like you sir, you are from India aren't you?"

Charlie was now talking the man sitting on Zackary's right. Even through he looks like he's a handsome man from the subcontinent of India, he was in actuality a black panther. "Yes, I am," the man said in a British accent. "My name is Bagheera."

"Like in the _Jungle Book_?" Charlie said shocked.

"I do not follow," Bagheera said.

"_The_ _Jungle Book_ is a collection of stories written by Rudyard Kipling and was published in 1894. It was adapted into several movies and cartoons over the years."

"Oh, _that _Jungle Book," Bagheera said playing along. "Yes, I do recall that book."

"In one of the stories in _The Jungle Book_ there was a character named Bagheera. He's a black panther you know."

"You have no idea," Bagheera said sipping his coffee.

Charlie continued with a dreamy look in her eyes, "My favorite story in _The Jungle Book_ was Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. When that mongoose saved that boy from the cobra, I cried. That was a good story and it was adapted to a wonderful cartoon."

"You're like a walking encyclopedia," Flicker said in amazement.

The waitress blush a little. "I know it's strange that I talk a lot, but since couple of days ago I've been able to remember everything. It's more than just a great memory; it's like….like…."

"It's like you have developed a super power," Zackary finished for her.

"Something like that," Charlie said as she shifted her weight. "So how about the rest of these orders?"

An hour later, the Forsaken finished with their meals and were wrapping up their meeting. "We need to leave this horrible world," Zackary said as he threw his napkin on the table.

"So soon?" Flicker said a bit disappointed. "We could use this world as our base. Besides, I want to try this dish they call an 'apple pie.'"

"No, this world is too eventful I afraid," Zackary left a huge tip for the waitress and got up from the table. The other members followed suit. "Besides, you know our assigned fates. We are the gypsies of the universe, cursed to be nomads till we find a way to bring back our home worlds."

As they left the diner, Zackary noticed that the man in the cap was still watching Charlie with a hungry look in his eyes. As he passed by his table, Zackary noticed that the man written something on his napkin: I AM SYLAR!

The Forsaken walked down the street and put on their blue cloaks. The average person would have thought that they were supermodels going to a fashion show, but that was far from the truth. "Bagheera, it's your turn to try to bring back your world," Zackary said as he put the hood of his cloak over his head. "But this time, I'm sending someone with you. A secret weapon as it were."

"Who?" the black panther asked.

From the shadows of a nearby alley, a dark figure emerged. He had long dark hair, a prosthetic left arm, a red cape, and matching headband, and piercing red eyes. "He means me," the figure said in a voice that can make a brave man weep.

"I don't know why Hojo and Yzma thought you were broken," Zackary said staring at the figure. "You work just fine." He turned his attention back to Bagheera, "Now both of you go to Cape Suzette and do your job." Bagheera opened a dark portal and he and the dark figure was about to enter it when Zackary gave a final command. "Be sure to tell my little brother I said 'Happy Birthday.'" Bagheera and the figure nodded and then they disappeared in the portal.

"So what now?" Sasuke asked.

"We continue to search for a home base," and with that all the Forsaken members disappeared in a portal. Just in time too, because in a few moments Charlie is going to be killed by Sylar and Hiro will travel back in time in a vain attempt to save her.

But that's another story…

**Next Chapter: Kyle's Awakening**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Christina Aguilera: real life(1980-present)

Kuzco: The Emperor's New Groove(2000)

Pacha: The Emperor's New Groove(2000)

Chaka: The Emperor's New Groove(2000)

Marsupilami: Marsupilami(1992)

Zackary (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Flicker: Blazing Dragons(1996)

Sasuke Uchiha: Naruto(manga 1999)

Bagheera: The Jungle Book(1967)

Hiro Nakamura: Heroes(2006)

Charlene "Charlie" Andrews: Heroes(2006)

Sylar: Heroes(2006)

**A/N: I got the idea of a pop star singing prophecies from the novel **_**And Another Thing…**_** by Eoin Colfer, which by the way, is an awesome book. Anyone who wants to find out more on Hiro, Charlie, and Sylar watch Season 1 of Heroes, episodes 8 through 10 or read the novel **_**Saving Charlie **_**by Aury Wallington. The mystery of Trevor's vision in this chapter and the identity of the sandy-blond young man will be revealed in the next chapter! So stay tuned!**


	11. Kyle's Awakening

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Kyle's Awakening**

The sun slowly rose over the Amazon rainforest providing light and warmth for the land below. The creatures of the jungle began to stir, preparing for the long day ahead of them. High above the canopy, in a makeshift tree house, a seven-year old white rabbit in an orange jumpsuit was trying to wake his roommate up.

"Brandy, Brandy!" the rabbit begged. "Get up or we are going to be late!"

Brandy, who was a fifteen-year old Spaniel-mixed who wears a short sleeve pink shirt and red jeans, just pulled the covers over her eyes wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. "Leave me alone Whiskers!" she yelled from beneath the covers. "I'm trying to get some beauty sleep here, not that you know anything about it."

Mr. Whiskers didn't mind Brandy's insults; he was used to it. "But Bbbbbrrrraaaaandddddyyyyyyyy!!!!" the smelly rabbit continued. "Today is the big sale at the mall. Fifty to seventy percent off of everything. Have you forgotten?"

The magic word was 'mall,' for the moment Whiskers uttered it, the blonde dog got out of bed, slid down the tree, ran toward the mall like a bat out of hell. Poor Whiskers was left behind, scratching his head in confusion. "Hey, no fair getting a head start!" the rabbit yelled after Brandy.

Whiskers tried to follow Brandy, but he once again forgot that he was up a tree and fell to ground; _again_. A blue-gray otter, who just so happen to be standing by the base of the tree, looked down at the Whiskers-shaped crater and shook his head. "You really need to learn to watch out for the first step there, Mr. Whiskers," the otter said in a dull tone of voice.

"Just help me out of this hole, Ed…," Whiskers begged his best friend. Ed obliged, and pulled the rabbit out of the hole. Mr. Whiskers dusted himself off and turned to the otter. "So, what are you doing here Ed?"

"Well, that is a very interesting story there, Mr. Whiskers," the otter began. "I just came back from the mall and brought me this here journal." The otter held up a leather-bound tome filled with blank pages. "I figure that I can write my memoirs in it."

"Well, I was heading to the mall to buy myself a little something. That is if Brandy doesn't buy everything once I get there," Whiskers joked, but the sad thing was he was probably right.

"I'll go with you, I don't mind going there again," Ed said putting away his journal. "But I must warn you, Mr. Whisker. It's a madhouse in there."

Madhouse was right, when Ed and Mr. Whiskers arrived at the Mayan temple that was converted into a mall; thousands of animals were cramped up in it like sardines. Each and every one of them was running in and out of stores, buying and selling, trading goods for shinny pieces of rocks.

Near the food court of the mall, a bright yellow booth was set up with a bored looking human behind the counter. The human in question was Light Yagami. The booth had signs such as 'Join Naraku and his Quest to Control the Universe!' Also, 'Win the Respect of Your Peers! Send In Your Application Today!' Last, but not least, Light's least favorite, 'We Have an Excellent Dental Plan!'

"How did I wind up here," Light asked Ryuk drumming his fingers on the counter.

"Naraku asked you to be here so you can take over for Negaduck, remember?" the shinigami replied.

**KH-KH-KH**

A few hours ago, within Naraku's stronghold, Light Yagami entered Naraku's room. "I'm glad you can make it, Light," the demon said with his eyes blazing with brimstone. "I have a special job for you."

"Oh," the young man said somewhat disrespectful. "You want me to kill someone?"

"No, I need you to go to a certain world and try to recruit members for our organization. As you know, our numbers are rapidly depleting. The Fire Nation withdrew from our group, Norrington failed to bring us Davy Jones, and I believe that Yzma is working against me. So I need you bring us some new blood."

"A recruiter?!" Light said shocked at Naraku's request. "That is a waste of my talents! Besides, isn't Negaduck the recruiter of our group? Send him to do it!"

"I would, but Negaduck is taking of business for me in another dimension. That's why I'm asking you, Light."

Light couldn't believe this! He was being downgraded from assassin to lowly recruiter. "Listen-" before Light could continue he felt a sharp fan pressing against his neck. He adjusted his peripheral vision and saw a woman dressed in a kimono who had the same eyes as Naraku.

"Don't you dare talk back to Lord Naraku," she said.

"And who are you?" Light said to the woman. "I haven't seen you around before."

"My name's is Kagura. Servant and incarnation of Lord Naraku."

"What…incarnation?" Light said confused.

"Let me put this in terms which you can understand Light Yagami," Naraku said impatiently. "I save your live once, now it's time for you to return the favor." Light's blood went cold, he hated to think about the day he met Naraku. "As I recall," Naraku continued, "you were about to be captured by Near, am I correct?" Light choked a little when he heard the name Near, the only one who proved to be smarter than he was. "Poor Light, dying of a gunshot wound. That is, until I intervened. I saved your life and I can take it away just the same. The power that I have over you is far greater than the power you have over me."

**KH-KH-KH**

And so, Light was forced to be on this miserable world finding recruits for Naraku's inter-circle. He contemplated about writing Naraku's name in the Death Note, but calmed himself and choose to stick with the plan. Naraku will get his soon enough. Before long, a green and black gecko with two monkey henchmen appeared before Light and demanded service.

"I would like to join this little group of yours, for I have an interest for ruling the cosmos," the short lizard said in a Brazilian accent.

Light couldn't believe what he was seeing, a little lizard-thing that seriously wanted to rule the universe. "State your name and your current occupation," the young man said absolutely bored.

"Gaspar Le Gecko," the gecko said. "Self-appointed dictator of the Amazon."

"Known acts of mayhem and destruction?" Light asked.

"Hmm, let's see…," Gaspar thought aloud. "There was that time I used magic socks to wreak havoc across the jungle."

"I sorry, Mr. Le Gecko, but I'm afraid you are not cut out to be apart of our organization," Light said hoping that the lizard would leave him alone.

"Please let me in your group," Gaspar got on his hands and knee to beg. "I want to rule the universe so badly!!"

Light rolled his eyes and then an idea stuck him. This gecko could be a source of entertainment. "Alright, don't cry, but before I can let you in the group, you'll have to pass a test."

"Thank you, thank you, mister. I won't fail you!" Gaspar thanked with gratitude. "So, what's the test?"

"Oh, it's very simple," Light smiled. He pulled out an object that resembled a black marble and gave it to Gaspar. The moment the lizard touch it, the marble became a thick liquid and was absorbed by Gaspar's body.

"What's going on?" the lizard panicked. "What did you do to me?!"

"I gave you the power to control Heartless," Light said with a smile on his face. "If you can control the heartless effectively without losing your heart, then you're in."

The gecko felt a dark power resonate within him. Gaspar hesitantly extended out his hand and a dark corridor began to form. Out of the portal, several Neoshadows emerge with their antennas twitching ready for attack. Gaspar flashed a wicked grin at his new servants. "Finally, after all this time, I now have the power!!!" The lizard's excitement caused several more Heartless to appear across the mall. The Heartless began attacking the animal shoppers on Gaspar's orders, turning many animals into Heartless.

"Do you think it's wise to give this gecko the power over the Heartless?" Ryuk asked Light. "He appears to be a bit…unstable."

"Relax, Ryuk," Light beamed. "The amount of darkness I gave him was so great, that I doubt that even Naraku could handle it. In a couple of minutes his heart will be consumed and he'll be nothing more than a Heartless pawn."

Brandy Harrington was walking out of a store with ten shopping bags and her head held up high. Buying half of the store's stock was a new record for her, next time she will try to buy the whole store. She begins to notice that something was amiss in the mall. Her first clue was a tapir being attack by a Shadow; her second clue was noticing that all the animals were fleeing in terror. "This is way too organized to be the result of one of Whiskers' mishaps," Brandy reasoned. "So that means that this must be the work of Gaspar."

Gaspar was having the time of his life, laughing wickedly as the mall fill with Heartless. "Dance, my puppets!!!! Dance!!!!!" Light could already see the wisps of darkness surrounding the gecko's body. _Won't be long now_, Light thought in twisted amusement.

Mr. Whiskers and Ed watched as all the animals ran pass them trying to escape from the Heartless. "I know it's 50% off of everything, but do people have to trample over each other to get to the store?" Whiskers complained.

"I don't think they're running toward a sale, Mr. Whiskers," Ed mused analyzing the situation. "What I do think, is that they are running from creatures called forth from the deepest darkness summoned by Gaspar."

"Why do you say that?" Whiskers inquired.

"Because Gaspar is about ten feet away from us, laughing his head off as he's creating creatures to devour the shoppers."

"Oh…," Whiskers said slightly embarrassed that he didn't notice that sooner.

"Gaspar, what are you doing?!" Both Whiskers and Ed looked up and saw Brandy with her arms in akimbo staring down the lizard. "You're ruining the one place of culture this miserable jungle has to offer!"

"Well, well. Isn't it Brandy Harrington of the Florida Harrington," Gaspar mocked. "Did you come to swear you undying loyalty to me?"

"As if," Brandy said in a huff as she crossed her arms.

One could see the vain on Gaspar's head throbbed angrily. "Is that so? Let's see if you feel the same way once I reach my full power!!!" The little gecko surged with dark energy. At the very moment that Gaspar felt his newfound powers at its peak, was the moment that he lost control of everything. Light Yagami stood at a distance, knowing full well what is going to happen next. Gaspar couldn't speak or move as the darkness slowly swallowed him. There was a huge burst of energy and in Gaspar's place was a giant black and gold gecko Heartless. The Heartless was easily seventeen feet long; it had six legs, sharp teeth, golden ember eyes, and the Heartless emblem on its head.

"Finally," Light said as he watched at a safe distance. "Although I didn't expect him to become a powerful Heartless. A Shadow at least, but not this giant."

Brandy shrieked and dropped her bags. Whiskers and Ed tried to run over to her, but the Heartless blocked their path. "Somebody help me!!!!" Brandy screamed throwing miscellaneous items at the creature.

"Brandy, we're coming to save you," Whiskers yelled trying to find the quickest (and safest) route to his roommate.

Suddenly, the Heartless began to pulsate and the mall began to collapse around them. Slowly but surely, the world was falling into darkness.

Light began to cough; the darkness that Gaspar's Heartless was emitting was just too great. "Damn it, the Heartless is too unstable," Light coughed as he opened a portal. "Come on, Ryuk, we need to get out of here before this world falls into the abyss!"

Slowly, the darkness began to cover the world and Mr. Whiskers and Ed were having a hard time finding Brandy. "Brandy!!" Whiskers yelled in search of his friend.

"Ms. Brandy, can you hear us?!" Ed yelled along with Whiskers.

"Whiskers!!! Ed!!!!" Brandy yelled somewhere in the midst of the darkness.

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet vanished, and Whiskers and Ed fell in an endless dark abyss. Ed and Mr. Whiskers held on to each other tight, scared out of their minds. Never in their lives, have they experienced such tribulation, such horror. The silence of the dead rushed in their ears, surrounding them like the defying roar of the ocean. As they sank deeper into the shadows, they wonder if what they were about to experience is the dreaded vacuum known as death.

**KH-KH-KH**

On the shores of the world _City of Lost Angels_, a sandy-blond collegian stirred in his tent. He poked his head out of his sleeping bag and saw that his digital clock flashed 6:35 across its display. He sat up, tossed back his hair, and lightly slapped his face trying to wake up. "Well, happy birthday, Kyle," he said to himself as he searches for something to wear.

Kyle stepped out of his tent wearing a red Hawaiian shirt, beige cargo shorts, and sandals. It has been a week since his college and its dorms closed down due to _Unforeseeable repairs_; but he knows what really happen.

A couple of days ago, those creatures that everybody was calling the Heartless attacked his school. He would never forgot that day; running campus trying to escape the creatures of darkness. Then out of the blue, something blocked out the sun. When he looked up, he saw a giant spaceship. His mind was doing flips; he did not know what to think. After a few moments, he watched in awe as the ship left the atmosphere of the world and headed for the reaches of inter-space.

"It is called the Heart of Gold," Kyle stopped starring at the sky and saw Yuko and Watanuki coming toward him. Before Kyle could say anything, Yuko interrupted him. "If you ever want to leave this world, like your predecessor, then look in the cave near the beach." The witch placed a hand on his shoulders. "And don't worry about the price. Your other already paid for it."

Kyle stared at the witch in bewilderment. '_Predecessor? Other?'_ he thought. _'What's that suppose to mean?'_

"Come along, Watanuki," Yuko called to her assistant. "We need leave this world as well." The witch stops and then turns to the blond young man. "Before I forget, one more piece of advice. Follow the white rabbit, he will bring you luck."

Soon after, the college closed for repairs due to the damage the Heartless caused, and Kyle was forced to find a temporarily place to live. He could have stayed with his mother while the school was closed, but he did not want to deal with his stepfather. Besides, he would rather stay at the beach where he could get to surf every morning. He grabbed his red and white surfboard and stared out at the ocean. He always felt calm when he was near the sea, all of his troubles and worries seem to melt away when he was catching some waves. The ocean was the only place where everything made any sense to him.

He charged for the crashing waves holding his surfboard over his head, wanting to catch the first wave of the day. He barely reached the water when he tripped over a huge lump. After spitting out a mouthful of sand, Kyle turned to see what caused him to fall. He expected to see some seaweed, but instead he saw two drenched bodies lying flat on the sand. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't going crazy. Lying in the sand was a rabbit in an orange jumpsuit and an otter.

'_Poor guys…'_ Kyle simply thought as he saw they bodies. Then a miracle happened, the rabbit turned his head and coughed up seawater. _'They're alive!'_ The surfer checked both of the animals' heartbeats; they were faint, but that least they were still alive.

Kyle dragged both of the animals near his tent, so the high tide won't come and wash them away. After a few minutes, the two animals became conscience and began to stir.

"Somebody, get that license plate number of the bus that hit me…," Whiskers said disorientated.

"It talks!" Kyle jumped back in surprise.

"Did we go to a party or something, Mr. Whiskers?" Ed said as he rubbed the back of his head. "'Cause my head is killing me."

"Dude, I don't believe it," Kyle said as his eyes widen, "talking animals."

It was only then did Ed and Mr. Whiskers notice the blond human. "Wow, a human in the Amazon," Whiskers said as he leapt to his feet. "Brandy would be thrill to see you. She been waiting a long time for someone to come and rescue her."

Ed tapped Whiskers on the shoulder. "I don't think we are in the Amazon anymore, Mr. Whiskers."

Mr. Whiskers turned his head around and sure enough, they weren't in the lush tropical rainforest anymore. Instead, he saw ocean, miles of beach, and a heavy urban environment. "Ed, what happen!" the rabbit said in a panic. "Why we are no longer in the Amazon and where's Brandy!!"

The otter pondered this and arrived to a conclusion. "If my memory serves correctly, then our world was destroyed."

Whiskers' head hung low as he remembered what happen. "Oh yeah… But wait a minute!" Whiskers enthusiasm crept back in his voice, "Does that mean we're in heaven!"

"I don't think so Mr. Whiskers," the otter said dryly. "Most likely we somehow survive the darkness and washed up on another world entirely."

"So what is this world?"

"That's a good question, excuse me sir," Ed was now talking with Kyle, who was wondering if this was all a dream. "Could you please tell us what world we are in?"

"The City of Lost Angels," Kyle said looking down at the otter.

"But that doesn't answer my question; where's Brandy?" Whiskers said with his arms crossed.

"Well, if she survived like we did," Ed reasoned, "then she bound to be somewhere around here."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find her," the rabbit clapped his hand enthusiastically. The otter and the rabbit left the beach, but not before Whiskers waved to Kyle. "Thanks for saving our lives, stranger!"

Kyle didn't know what to make from this experience. After all, this type of thing could only happen on _The Twilight Zone_. He then remembered the strange witch's words: _Follow the white rabbit, he will bring you luck._ It was a strange piece of advice, but what did he have to lose? "Wait a minute you two!" the surfer called after the animals. "Dudes, wait up!" Kyle ran over to the animals, for someone who is not use to this sort of thing it was a very surreal moment. "I will help you find this Brandy character of yours."

"Why, that's awfully kind of you stranger," Ed said shaking the human's hand. "By the way, what do they call you?"

"Kyle Birch," the blond surfer said with a smile.

"Well, I'm Mr. Whiskers and over there is Ed," the rabbit said while introducing everyone. "So, Kyle, where do you suggest we look first?"

"Well, what of person Brandy is like?"

Whiskers scratched his head. "Let me think for a minute. Well, Brandy is a dog, she is also bossy."

"And whiny," Ed added.

"Vain."

"Conceited."

"Shrew."

"Arrogant."

"Belligerent."

"Selfish."

"And most of all, stuck up," Mr. Whiskers said ending the description.

Kyle scratched his head; what will be the best place to search for someone of that description? "The mall," he said arriving to a conclusion.

It took all three of them about a half an hour to reach the downtown mall. They passed the old college along the way and Kyle was quickly reminded why he was a beach bum. "So your world was attacked by the Heartless too, huh?" Kyle said trying to make conversation. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that there are other worlds out there.

"Yeah," Whiskers said scratching his nose. "But once we find Brandy, we'll find a way to bring back our world."

They arrived at the entrance of the mall, when Kyle felt a chill now his spine. The same chill he felt when the Heartless first attacked. A massive dark portal appeared before them and an enormous gecko Heartless come out.

"That's the Heartless that destroyed our world," Whiskers hollered. "It followed us here!"

The gecko Heartless opened its mouth, spat out a dark blast, and rendered the three paralyzed for four seconds. The behemoth charged at them, and the three barely managed to dodge the attack.

"Have you guys figured out a way to defeat these things?" Kyle yelled at Ed.

"Well, if we know how to defeat the Heartless, then our world wouldn't have fallen into darkness, would it?" Ed responded.

"Great," the blond surfer said trying to think of solutions, "What are we going to do now?"

_You always had the power inside you…_ Kyle's mind flashed to an image of someone his own age summoning a strange weapon. His right hand started to glow and in a brilliant flash of light, a keyblade appeared in his hand with the name _Enigmatic Sea _floating in his mind.

The Heartless didn't seem to like Kyle's newfound ability to summon a keyblade so it charged at him. Kyle performed a dodge roll and then slashed the creature causing it to howl in pain.

"We gotta help him, Mr. Whiskers," Ed pleaded as he watched Kyle defending them.

"Yeah, but it's not like we can make weapons magically appear," Whiskers said defeated. Then all of a sudden, an idea stuck him. The white rabbit reached behind his ears and pulled out a magic wand. "Maybe we _can_ make weapons magically appear!"

"Where did that magic wand come from?" the otter inquired scratching his head.

"I told you before that we rabbits are natural magicians." With a wave of his wand, Whiskers brought forth a short sword covered in magic runes.

Ed picked up the sword and admired the handiwork. "You don't see a sword like this everyday," the otter whistled.

"No time to admire the craftsmanship, Ed. We have to help Kyle," Whiskers waved his wand threateningly at the Heartless. "Now remember that you are now a Mystic Knight while I'm a Blue Mage."

"What's a Mystic Knight again? Is it like a Paladin or maybe-"

"Charge!!!" Whiskers yelled completely ignoring Ed.

Meanwhile, Kyle was struggling in the fight. Although, the keyblade granted him new abilities, he just wasn't a natural fighter. He was not the fastest or the most agile keyblade, but what he lacked in speed and agility, he made up in power. Every time he landed a blow, the giant Heartless was pushed back a couple of feet.

"We're here to back you up, buddy," Kyle turned and saw Mr. Whiskers and Ed beside him ready for battle. That's when the Heartless turned around and swung its massive tail at the three hurling them into a nearby wall.

"Why do I get the feeling that we are like _The_ _Three Stooges_?" Kyle coughed as he picked himself up.

"Wait, does that make me Curly or Moe?" Whisker asked.

The Heartless roared again and launched hundreds of needle projectiles at them. Kyle barely managed to dodge each one and was panting from exhaustion.

"Have a taste of your own medicine, buddy!" Whiskers said waving his wand around. "Terror of the Cactaur: **1,000 Needles!**" The rabbit fired his own needle projectiles at the Heartless causing major damage.

"That was some nice blue magic casting there, Mr. Whiskers," Ed whistled. "Well, I guess it's my turn. Gotta contribute to the team and all that." The otter steadied his sword and focused all of his mana in it. "Spellblade: Blizzard!" The sword froze over, and Ed charged at the Heartless. Each attack he made dealt heavy ice-based damage.

The surfer keyblader got his second wind and gathered his mana to perform a final attack. "**Fatal Lock Breaker!**" Kyle yelled as he leapt into the air and brought his keyblade crashing down on the Heartless' head. The gecko Heartless gave up the ghost and released its giant crystal heart.

Ed and Mr. Whiskers performed a chest bump, which caused Ed to land flat on his back. "We rule!!!" Whiskers yelled.

Kyle wasn't listening; he was busy staring at his keyblade. "Dude, what is this _thing_?"

"It's called a keyblade, Mr. Kyle," Ed said getting up. "It's the ultimate weapon of the universe, capable of saving countless of worlds, and only a few are able to wield its power."

"Wow, where did you learn that, Ed?" Whiskers asked quite impressed.

"I got me some of that fancy book learnin'," Ed said as he unconsciously scratched his belly.

"Keyblade…" Kyle said if he was trying to recall something from a far-off dream.

"What I am worry about is Brandy," Whiskers said a bit crestfallen. "We search everywhere for her and we still can't find her."

"Maybe she didn't wash up on this world," Ed reasoned. "Maybe she's on another world somewhere out there."

"Now how are we supposed to travel to between worlds?" Whiskers asked.

"By looking in a cave near the beach," Kyle said as he started heading for the beach.

"Huh?!" the rabbit and otter asked in unison.

"Some time ago, a lady told me if I ever wanted to leave this world, then I should look in the cave by the beach."

In thirty minutes, the three reached the cave in question. Anyone could see that the cave was made from years of water erosion, but what shocked Kyle and the others is the fact that was longer than they expected it would be. They already traveled a good three-hundred feet before reaching the end of the cave. The back of the cave was a huge dome, with stalactites threatening to fall on the travelers. However, what got their attention was the ancient gummiship sitting in the cave.

"Look at this thing," Whiskers said in awe. The gummiship was about forty feet long and twenty feet high. It was rusted all over, expect for the windows, but you could tell that the color used to be blue. The overall shape of the ship was that of a futuristic tugboat. Along the side of the ship was its name: _Inspiration_.

"I don't find it all that inspiring," Whiskers said flatly.

"Don't judge a book by its cover there, Mr. Whiskers," Ed said as he was examining the ship. "She don't look all that pretty, but she takes us to other worlds just fine."

"Are you coming along with us," Whiskers asked Kyle. "The more the merrier."

"You know what? I will," the keyblader said as he climbed in the ship. "It will take a while before they reopen the college and seeing other worlds might be the vacation I need."

"To adventure!" Whiskers said extending out his hand.

All three of them put their hands together and shouted "To adventure!!" In the back of Kyle's mind, he saw an image of a young man with brown hair, a woman with blonde hair, and a cartoon bobcat. He paused for a moment to ponder what it could mean, but then just shrugged it off and continued to try to fix the ship.

**Next Chapter: Upward and Onward**

**Ed's Memoirs Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Brandy Harrington: Brandy and Mr. Whiskers(2004)

Mr. Whiskers: Brandy and Mr. Whiskers(2004)

Ed: Brandy and Mr. Whiskers(2004)

Gaspar Le Gecko: Brandy and Mr. Whiskers(2004)

Kagura: InuYasha(manga 1997)

Kyle Birch (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

**A/N: FYI, Gaspar's magic socks and Whiskers saying that rabbits are natural magicians were references to the Brandy and Mr. Whiskers episode, **_**The Magic Hour**_**. Well, now you know the identity of the mysterious blond man, and that Trevor and Kyle shared not only some kind of mental connection but the same last name as well. No, they are not twins or brothers. The answer is not that obvious, you will have to think outside of the box to figure it out. What you should be wonder is the identity of the blonde young woman, Trevor seen in Ch. 2 and Ch. 5. Please stay tuned and review!**


	12. Upward and Onward

Author's Notes: First I like would like to say that I'm embarrassed that in previous chapters I spelled Don Karnaģe's name as Carnaģe (with a C). In future chapters, I will use the correct spelling. But enough about my inability to spell, onward with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 11: Upward and Onward**

Trevor was wandering in the midst of darkness trying to get his bearings. He could barely see three feet in front of him, and he started to wonder whatever happened to Bonkers and Miranda. "Miranda? Bonkers?" the keyblader called out. "Anyone?!"

He heard a 'creaking' from behind him and spun around to see the source of the noise. What he saw shocked him; it was a young man his own age with sandy-blond hair, a red Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and sandals. However, the freaky thing was that the young man before him had the same facial features as him. Side by side, they could be confused as twins. The young man not only emulated Trevor's face, but his posture and his facial expressions.

The blond man grabbed Trevor by the neck and lifted him in the air. "You had your chance at life…," the blond one said with dead eyes. "Do us all a favor and disappear from existence. It's my time to live…"

Out of nowhere, a pale hand grabbed the blond man by the neck. Trevor looked down and couldn't believe his eyes. Defending him was his doppelganger he dreamt about before his adventure began; his _Bleak_ doppelganger.

"Perhaps, it is you who should disappear, Kyle," the Bleak said with malice in its voice. "You're the facsimile; you're the one who should die." The Bleak licked his lip and gave a toothy grin. "Besides, I'm the only one who can gain Trevor's true powers!!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor bolted upward as he woke up in a cold sweat. He angrily tossed aside his sweat-drenched blankets and ran his hands in his hair. The keyblader made a quick mental check to make sure he was still on the Heart of Gold. He looked around his private quarters and was relieved at he was safe; for the moment.

How long could he continue on like this? How long must he suffer? Trevor pondered this as he searched for some clean clothes to wear. _'I suppose everybody has good and evil waging a war inside them,'_ Trevor thought as he put on a clean shirt. _'Expect mine's seems like a war between evil and eviler.'_

He sat down on his bed and stared blankly at the clock which flashed 6: 30 am, April 2nd. _'Yesterday was my twentieth birthday,' _he thought. _'How long before the darkness within my heart consume me? I can see why so many people give in; it's far easier to be consumed than it is to fight it.' _Trevor sighed and put his head in his hands. _'But I refuse to be consume, at least not before I get answers.'_

There was a small beep in the room, indicating that the intercom was turned on. Miranda's voice filled the room as she made her announcement. "Trevor, Radiant Garden, Sora, Cynthia, and King Mickey have all contacted us. We need you on the bridge."

Trevor sighed as he got up wondering what the others wanted. "Why does life have to be so difficult?" he moaned.

**KH-KH-KH**

When Trevor arrived on the bridge he flashed a tired smile to his friends. Bonkers and Miranda smiled back at him and then turned their attention to the screen. The imagine on the screen was divided into four parts: on the upper left side of the screen was Leon, the upper right was King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the lower left was Cynthia, Max, and P.J., the lower right contained Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

"Now that everyone is present we can begin," Leon said straightening up a little. "Have any of you found anything relating to the Heartless outbreak?"

"Nothing," Sora said defeated. "We traveled to Agrabah, Neverland, Atlantica, and we turned up empty.

Leon nodded his head sympathetically, "How about you, Your Majesty?"

"We had a few run-ins with a character called Negaduck," the mouse king said. "He claims to work for Naraku and we stop him before he and his Heartless horde could take over the world we were on. However, he escaped before we could get anymore information."

"I see…," Leon said processing all of the information. "Our rogues' gallery seems to be growing by the minute."

"I have something to add," everyone looked up as Trevor step forward. "The last world we were on, we fought with one of Naraku's partners. I even overheard a conversion she had with one of her minions."

"Go on," Leon urged.

"From the sound of it, it seems like she was trying to rebel against Naraku and take over the organization. It looks like some of the members are not too happy with their leader."

"Well, that's a good thing right?" Cynthia spoke up. "That means there's a chance that Naraku's allies could destroy each other from the inside out."

"But that's not all," Trevor continued. "The villain also talked about one of the other members of the group. Apparently, his name is Light. According to her, Light has the power to kill anyone by writing their name in a book."

Everyone went silent as they tried to imagine what they were up against.

"That's…very disturbing news," Leon said finally.

"How can we fight against something like that?" Kairi said with her hand over her mouth. "If that's true, he could kill us at any time!"

"But he hasn't yet," Mickey said trying calm everyone down. "There could be only two explanations for that. One: Naraku and his minions don't know our names yet. The other is-"

"That they know our names, but Naraku ordered Light not to kill us yet," Riku finished.

"But wait a minute," Cynthia said a bit confused. "If that's the case, then that means…"

"We are nothing more than pawns in their sick game," Trevor concluded. "But the real question is, 'to what end?'"

"Organization XIII tried to use me to complete their own Kingdom Hearts," Sora wondered out loud. "Perhaps, Naraku is doing to same."

"I think it's more complicated than that," Mickey stated. "Each and every one of us must travel to more worlds to find some answers."

"Speaking of answers, have anyone on Radiant Garden found anything on Naraku?" Kairi asked Leon.

Leon sighed, "Aerith and Merlin are busying searching through the archives in the castle's library. So far they turn up nothing."

"So we are still in the dark in regards of Naraku's identity, huh?" Trevor sighed.

Leon looked at someone off screen and then nodded head. He turned his attention back to the camera, "I have to go, but before we end this meeting, does anyone have anything else to say?"

"I do, Leon," Miranda said standing up. "On the last world we encountered one of the members of the Forsaken. Apparently, they-"

"They still talk about false worlds and only target one person per world," Trevor interrupted. Miranda looked at the keyblader both shocked and hurt. Trevor continued, "They plan is still unclear, but the person we fought did mention a leader. Unfortunately, we don't know the leader's name…"

"Very well," Leon said. "I call this meeting adjourned." One by one, the four sections of the screen cut off revealing only static.

"Why didn't you let me tell them that the Forsaken are after you?" Miranda asked.

"They don't need to know that, at least, not yet," Trevor said. "I have a feeling about this, Miranda. I ask you to trust me on this, okay? If we run into another Forsaken member, I will tell Leon and the others."

"Fine," the blonde cop huffed as she went over to the control panel. "Eddie, are we near a world yet?"

"Yes, in fact, we are hovering over Cape Suzette right now," the computer chimed.

"Aren't you goin' to tell us what the world is famous for?" Bonkers asked the computer.

"I would love to gang, but there is inefficient data regarding this world," Eddie said a tad bit downcast.

"I wonder if Vince is on this world?" Trevor asked the two.

"Don't worry," Miranda said trying to comfort the keyblader. "We'll find him."

**KH-KH-KH**

The three travelers were teleported to a decent size island with a huge deck and had dozens of planes parked along it. From where they were it was only a short walking distance to a small club named 'Louie's.' Trevor and Miranda once again reprise their role as a fox and Labrador retriever while Bonkers remained the same.

"I see we turned into anthropomorphic animals again," Trevor cursed as he looked at his hands(er….paws?).

"It probably means that humans don't exist on this world," Miranda reasoned. "You know what I think we should do? I think it would be wise if we carefully analyze this world. That way, we can learn about the culture better and form better excuses if someone asked us where we came from."

"That's a great idea, Miranda," Trevor said.

"It sounds ," Bonkers lamented sluggishly.

"Bonkers, we're cops. We do this sort of thing all the time," Miranda huffed.

"Well, let's get started," Trevor sighed with his hands behind his head. "Well, we're on an island and there are lots of seaplanes around, so I would guess that this place is popular with pilots and that air travel may be standard on this world."

"Not only that, look at the way the citizens dress and how old the planes look compare to modern planes." Everyone looked around and saw that Miranda was right. Trevor felt like he stepped into a time machine and travel back fifty or more years ago. Miranda continued, "My guess is this world is stuck somewhere in the mid to late 1930's."

"Hmm… Given this information I would imagine that the Heartless on this world use aerial attacks since air travel is so important to this world," Trevor reasoned.

"Unfortunately, besides the Thunder spells we don't have any anti-air attacks. We could be sitting ducks," Miranda looked up and noticed that they were short one person. "Where's Bonkers?"

Both of them looked toward the club and saw the cartoon bobcat entering Louie's.

"Well, let's go get him before he can cause any trouble," Trevor sighed.

Trevor and Miranda entered the club and found that it was filled with drunken pilots trying to drown their sorrows. The club had a tropical island theme to it and seemed pleasant enough. It didn't take them long before they found Bonkers singing and dancing with a bear wearing a beige jacket and a red cap.

"Bonkers, get off of that table!" Miranda hissed as she picked up the bobcat. "Sorry, if he was any trouble sir."

"No trouble at all," the bear said. "That cat really knows how to swing." (**A/N:** the word 'swing' in the past meant to be lively or show great enthusiasm. I don't want you to get the wrong idea.)

Trevor looked at the bear for a minute. _'He seems so familiar,'_ he thought. _'But that can't be. I must be imagining things.'_

All of a sudden there was a crash and the front door flew open. A bear cub, wearing a lime jacket and holding a box, came flying through the door and crashed into Trevor and the bear.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" the bear said picking himself up.

"A broken back," the keyblader sarcastically spat.

An overweight dog stormed in the club with an axe to grind. "Come here you pint-sized hitchhiker!" he said to the cub.

"Cut the kid some slack," the bear said standing up for the cub.

"Hey, whatever he did, I'm sure it was only an accident," Trevor said backing the bear and the cub up.

That's when the dog got nervous. "I-I didn't know he was a pal of yours, Baloo," he gulped. "And I didn't know you have friends to back you up," he was referring to Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers. "No hard feelings, okay?" He patted the cub on the head and quickly walked away.

"That was quite an entrance, little breeches," Baloo said to the cub.

"Hey, just be careful next time," Trevor rubbed his sore back. "Some of us have to walk."

"Hey, you're a pilot!" the cub said to Baloo. "Are you good?"

"The best, kid," Baloo boasted. "Numbero uno."

"Well, I'm going to be a pilot someday!"

"I bet you will be kid," Baloo nodded.

"Hey, what's in the box?" Bonkers pointed the small chest the cub was holding.

The kid stared at everyone suspiciously and wrapped his arms around the chest tighter as if to protect it. "Hands off it, it's mine!!"

"Take it easy, kid. We're just admiring it," Baloo said. "Well see you guys in the funny papers."

"Hmm, Baloo," Trevor spoke up. "Me and my friends are kind of stuck on this island. So, since you are a pilot, could you give us a lift?"

"Sure, why not?" the bear pilot said lackadaisically. "Well, come on the Seaduck right outside."

The four of them exit the club and cub was left all alone. He angrily kicked in the air. _'I guess I have to find another ride to the mainland,'_ he thought.

The front door opened and a dark shadow fell on the club. Standing in the doorway was none other than Don Karnaģe. The cub hid himself from view as he watched the pirate and his crew enter. The coyote pirate had an odd entourage with him: it was a mixture of his own crewmen, Airpirate Heartless, Bagheera who was wearing his blue cloak, and a black wolf with a prosthetic left arm and red cape.

"I am sorry to fracture the festivities," Don Karnaģe said in his Iberian accent. "But I have a brief announcement."

An orangutan named Louie, who happened to be the owner of the club, shook his fist at the pirate. "Get out of my place Karnaģe!"

The black wolf pointed his gun at Louie's head while Don Karnaģe shook his finger at the ape. "Don't do any hasty or my friend Valentine might do something unpleasant. He has an itchy trigger finger." Louie looked up at Valentine and saw no emotion whatsoever on the wolf's face. Don Karnaģe returned his attention the patrons of the club. "Now, I am looking for a boy who has stolen something from me. Hand him over and I will leave peacefully. If not, well…Valentine, show them what we will do."

Valentine blasted a huge hole in the ceiling with his gun. The cub watched this from the balcony and hid his chest in one of the masks hanging from the railing.

After a few seconds of silence, Don Karnaģe destroyed a table. "You are making me very unhappy! Boys, tear this place asunder!"

"Don't bother," the bear cub yelled on top of the stair. "I was just on my way out," he smartly remark.

"GET HIM!!!!" Don Karnaģe ordered. Several Heartless ran up the stairs, but the cub kick a barrel down the stairs causing the creatures to stumble over.

"Well, it's been fun, NOT!" the cub grabbed a rope and used it to swing himself out of the club.

Outside, Baloo, Trevor and his friends approached the Seaduck, a pale yellow and orange seaplane from a bygone era. "Well, this is my baby," Baloo announced, "the Seaduck!"

"That's a pretty big baby," Bonkers replied.

All four of them got into the plane and Baloo started up the engines. The cub ran toward the plane hoping he can stole away in Baloo's plane. As the plane took off, he grabbed the back fin of the plane and held on for dear life. He started to work his way up to the front of the plane and when he reached the plane's door, he knocked to get the attention of everyone inside.

"What the hell?" Trevor said shocked. "What's he doing outside the plane?!"

"I suppose you need a lift?" Baloo asked the cub, who nodded rapidly.

Trevor opened the door and let the cub who thanked him many times. "So what do they call you?" Baloo asked.

"Kit Cloudkicker," the cub said.

"Well, please to meet you, Kit."

"I'm going to buy a plane one day," Kit said staring out the window.

"Well, I hope your parents are rich," Baloo said.

"I don't have any folks, but I'm going to be rich one day. Real soon too."

Trevor felt sorry for the kid; even though he couldn't remember anything about his family, he often wondered if he was an orphan like Kit. _'Do I have a family waiting for me?'_ he thought. _'Or am I all alone?'_

Trevor's thoughts are interrupted by bullet breaching the hull. The keyblader looked out the window and saw dozens of airplanes, many of them that had the Heartless emblem on them. "We're under attack!"

"Back in the corner where I hang out, we call that pirates," Baloo performed some fancy maneuvers to try and shake the pirates, but to no avail. "What are they after me for? I don't have anything they want!"

Then Kit said something that sounded strange to Trevor, "Not necessarily."

The pirates continued to fire at them and Baloo was doing his best to outmaneuver them. The bear pilot tried to fly his plane as fast as he could to two cliffs up ahead. "There's Cape Suzette up ahead," Baloo said giving the engine all that its got.

"We'll never make it," Miranda said.

"Those puffs of smoke on top of those cliffs say otherwise." Sure enough, there were small puffs of smoke coming from the cliffs ahead.

Suddenly two missiles zoomed passed the Seaduck and destroyed two of the pirates' planes.

"So Cape Suzette is protected by antiaircraft machinery," Trevor said relieved. "Sweet."

The pirates made a hasty retreat as more missiles came after them. "Those pirates could never get passed the cannons," Baloo laughed. "It drives them crazy!"

Once they passed through the cliffs, Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, and Kit got their first look at Cape Suzette. It was a blustering metropolis that looked like New York City a little after the turn of the century. Tall skyscrapers reached the clouds filled with hundreds of animals working for the man; who happen to be Shere Khan, but that's another story.

Baloo landed the Seaduck near the docks at the edge of town. "Home, sweet home," he said joyously. They entered a small shack near the dock which so happens to be Baloo's office/home. One word can described the interior of the place: pigsty. Papers scattered all over the floor, unwashed clothes hung over the furniture, and leftover food rotting away in board daylight.

The sight of all this made Miranda physically ill, but Trevor shook his head. "Well, it could be worse. I've seen fraternity houses that looked worse than this."

Baloo sat down in his favorite chair and picked up a newspaper and began reading it. "Hey, the Socks won the series!"

"Baloo, that paper is two months old, just like these unpaid bills," Miranda said trying to clean up the bear's desk.

"It's all in the details," Baloo said waving off Miranda's concern. "I'm a big picture kind of guy. I only work when I have to and no more. Flying is what life's all about. In fact, I think I could use a navigator." Baloo tossed Kit a blue and red cap.

"Me?! Oh, no way, I got to get back to Louie's place," Kit said as he put on the cap and turned it backwards.

"I thought we left there?" Trevor said suspiciously.

"Yeah, and I want to go back, okay?"

"Does this tough guy routine work on all your friends?" Baloo asked with his arms crossed.

"I…don't have any friends," Kit said crestfallen.

"Sorry, kid," Baloo apologized. "But I'm not due back at Louie's for a couple of weeks."

"But I have to go now."

There was a knock on the door and Baloo answered it. "Baloo?" said a short groundhog wearing a blue suit and a grey top hat. "I'm from the Cape Suzette National Bank. You sir are delinquent on your last six payments and unless funds in total of three-thousand dollars are deposited in our institution by 9:00 am tomorrow, we will be forced to foreclose on your airplane." The money collector gave the pilot a foreclose notice.

"You're going to take my plane?!" Baloo said in shocked. "But the Seaduck is my baby!"

"We have sent numerous notices," the groundhog said dryly.

"I thought they were sweepstakes giveaways," Baloo lied in hope to buy more time.

"Good day," the money collector left, not caring one bit about Baloo's situation.

"How on Earth I'm going to get three-thousand smackers?" Baloo lamented. "What am I going to do?!!"

"Couldn't you take a job or something?" Bonkers inquired. "You are a pilot for hire after all."

"A job? You guys are geniuses! With a capital 'J!'" Before anyone could tell him that genius is spelled with a 'G,' Baloo ran over to the hiring board a few feet from his house. "Now let's see what's on the ol' job board!"

"Do you really think you can make three-thousand dollars this fast?" Kit asked.

"If the job's nasty enough," the pilot said looking through the ads. "Aha, a delivery gig!"

"What exactly do you have to deliver?" Trevor asked questionably.

"Well…They're big, and mean, and kinda ugly and yellow," Baloo explained trying to sugarcoat it.

"Oh, no. Not chocobos!" Kit cried.

"What are chocobos?" Trevor asked.

The keyblader got his answer a few minutes later as he, Bonkers, and Miranda tried to keep the huge yellow birds from going crazy inside the plane. "Oh, so these are chocobos…," he flatly said as he tried to push them to the back of the plane.

"See, nothing to it," Baloo cringed as he tried to fly the plane, but one of the birds was pecking him on the back of his head.

Trevor managed to lock the last chocobo in its cage, when the pirates appeared out of nowhere and started firing at the Seaduck. "Not now," Baloo lamented. "Not when I have the most important job in my career."

One of the pirates' plane zipped in front of the Seaduck and a figure jumped out of the plane and landed on the Seaduck's windshield. The figure stood up and looked at his prey inside the plane with his piercing red eyes. Trevor found that there was something familiar about him and then it dawned on him. Ever though the figure was a dark wolf with a false arm who wears red, he _knew_ this person!

"…Vince?" Trevor said shocked. "Is that really you?!"

Valentine pulled out his gun at aimed it at the windshield. "Hello, Trevor," he said darkly. "Your brother says 'Happy Birthday.'" Valentine shot at the windshield several times trying to break it. Baloo performed a barrel row causing Valentine to fall off the plane, but it also caused the Seaduck to crash-land.

Baloo hurried outside to examine his plane. "Will it fly?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah," Baloo said sick to his stomach. "But I don't understand. I have nothing that the pirates want. It's like they only attack when you guys-" The pilot put two and two together and stared angrily at his four passengers. "Wait a minute, they're after you guys aren't they?!"

"That is correct." All of them turned around and saw Valentine coming out of the vegetation. "Trevor, Kit, come peacefully and you won't get hurt."

"Vince, what happened to you?" Trevor said. He couldn't believe that his friend would start working for the bad guys. "Don't you recognize me? It's Trevor."

"The Vince you knew is dead," Valentine said as he raised his gun. "The entity you see before you is Vincent Valentine."

Vincent fired three rounds at Trevor, who dodged them and summoned his keyblade. "Vince, snap out of it!" Trevor yelled as he charged.

Vincent lowered his gun and also charged. Before Trevor could attack, Valentine sucker punched him in the gut, causing Trevor to go unconscious. Miranda also charged at Valentine, but he kicked the katana out of Miranda's hands and hit her with a spinning kick sending her flying over the Seaduck. Bonkers cast Fira and Vincent dodged the spell then pulled out gun. He fired seventeen rounds at Bonkers, who tired him best to dodge the bullet.

"Okay, okay. I give, I give," Bonkers dropped his staff and waved a white flag.

"Hey, you can't do this," Baloo protested. Vincent responded by sucker punching him in the face.

The gunman turned around and saw Kit making a brake for it. Kit ran like his life depended on it; which may be the case. Almost out of thin air, Vincent appeared before him. The boy wondered if the man before him could teleport, but the true was that he was extremely fast.

"W-what are you?" Kit said shivering in fear.

"The ultimate badass," Valentine said flatly. "Or at less, that's what Hojo was aiming for." He picked up Kit by the scruff of his neck and flung him over his shoulder. "After Don Karnaģe is finished talking with you, you will have to deal with one of my bosses, Bagheera. And trust me, that's not going to end well." He went over to the unconscious Trevor and fling him on his other shoulders and disappeared into the jungle.

Bonkers could only watch helplessly as the gunman made away with his friend and Kit. The bobcat heard a grunting sound and saw Miranda limping his way.

"Bonkers, what happen?" she inquired. "Where's Trevor, Kit, and the man known as Valentine?"

"He took them," the bobcat said defeated, close to tears. "He took them both."

Baloo woke up and spit out two loose teeth. "Man, did that guy know how to fight," he said as he rubbed his sore jaw. "What happened to Kit and Trevor?"

"Vincent took them," Miranda spat. "And we're going to find him."

"Oh no, lady. There is no 'we.' Not until you tell me why the pirates are after you guys and Kit."

Miranda sighed as she tired to figure out how to tell Baloo the truth without telling him about the other worlds. "I don't know about Kit, but Vincent was, apparently, the person that Trevor was looking for."

"Why would anyone look for that monstrosity in wolf form?" the pilot said with his arms crossed.

"Apparently, at one time, Vincent and Trevor were friends. Vincent was…kidnapped and Trevor was trying to save him."

"Some friend," Baloo huffed. "I would hate to see his enemies."

"This is serious Baloo! Trevor and Kit are in danger and we need to help them!"

Baloo thought about this for a moment. He looked at his plane then he looked at Miranda and Bonkers. He sighed defeated, "Alright, alright. Stop giving me the 'puppy-caught-in-the-rain' look. I will help you save the kid and your friend. But after that, I want some straight answers from all of you. You hear that? All I want is some straight answers and nothing more."

"You and the rest of the universe," Miranda sighed.

**Next Chapter: The Wild Blue Yonder**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Baloo: The Jungle Book(1967)

Louie: The Jungle Book(1967)

Kit Cloudkicker: Talespin(1990)

Vincent Valentine: Final Fantasy VII

**A/N: Yep, it turned out that Trevor's friend Vince was Vincent Valentine. You probably figured that out a couple of chapters ago, but what the heck. By the way, Trevor's birthday (as mentioned in the beginning of the chapter) is April 1st****. The same birthday as Watanuki and Syaoran! Coincidence or Hitsuzen? Only you can decide! Stay tuned for the next chapter and please review! And remember, NO FLAMES!**


	13. The Wild Blue Yonder

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: The Wild Blue Yonder**

"_Trevor, get up! Are going to sleep all day?!" _

_Trevor yawned and blinked his tired eyes. "Can't you give me five more minutes?" he rolled himself to the side and shut his eyes hoping to go back to sleep._

"_I don't think so," the female voice said while playfully punching Trevor._

_Trevor finally sat up and rubbed his eyes. He was in the middle of a lush green meadow with dozens of rolling hills going through it. Next to him was a young woman with flowing blonde hair, a white tank top, a blue skirt. She was sitting pseudo-patiently smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Well, this isn't such a bad way to way up," Trevor said with a yawn._

_The young woman punched the keyblader again. "Enough of your sweet talk. Besides, shouldn't you be at school?"_

"_Shouldn't you?" he retorted._

"_Touché," the woman said with a smile. She flop on her back next to Trevor and stared into the deep, blue sky. "Hey, Trevor?" she asked after a couple of seconds. "Could you me the story again?"_

"_What story, which one?"_

"_You know, the one where you and your family visited the world with the mountain islands."_

"_Oh, you mean the Land of Depar_-"

**KH-KH-KH**

"Uhh…" Trevor woke up with his head throbbing and a pain in his gut. His burly vision was accompanied by an excruciating headache. When his eyes finally adjusted, he found himself tied up with Kit, hanging upside down in a tree. He looked up (or down as the case may be) and saw Don Karnaģe and his crewmen staring up at them. "Don Karnaģe…," the keyblader venomously spat.

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and strudel," the coyote taunted.

"Strudel? I thought you're a Spaniard, not German."

"Spaniard? I always thought he was Italian," Bagheera said scratching his head.

"Funny, I thought he was Portuguese," Vincent said with dead eyes.

"Actually, I thought he was Romanian," Kit admitted.

"No, he has to be a Spaniard," Trevor insisted. "'Don' is a Spanish term for a gentleman of high rank. Therefore, in Spanish, his name means the 'Gentleman of Carnage.'"

"Ohhhh," everybody said in realization, which only made Don Karnaģe fumed more.

"So what do you want with us, you miserable coyote?" Trevor spat.

"Coyote? I thought he was a wolf," Kit said.

"ENOUGH!!!" Karnaģe bellowed and pointed his sword at the keyblader's throat. "You are nothing to me! However, my associates have business with you."

Trevor stared at the two who stepped forward, Vincent and Bagheera. He looked at the black panther with curiously. "Wait a minute, do I know you?"

"Yes, you did, but that was a lifetime ago," Bagheera said as he removed his hood. "Back then, I was a quadruped."

"And Baloo was there," Trevor remembering. "And we were in some type of jungle…"

"You're starting to remember, that's good. But I'm afraid that the Baloo you met recently is not the same Baloo from your memories."

"What are you talking about? Explain this to me!"

"Infinite Causalities, I will leave it at that," Bagheera said not wanting to answer the keyblader's questions.

"And you," Trevor stared daggers at Vincent. "How could you do this to your best friend?!"

"Cry me a river," Vincent said flatly. "At least when this is done, you will have a home to go to."

"Enough of this nonsense!" Don Karnaģe said ticked off. He turned his attention toward Kit. "Now tell me where the box is or perhaps we will leave you in the jungle to jog your memory. There are numerous of hungry animals out here. So this your last chance, is the box on the plane?"

"Plane? What plane? I walked here!" Kit spat.

"Okay we'll do it the hard way. Vincent, get me the turnips and the sandpaper."

Before Vincent could carry out on Don Karnaģe's request, a small herd of chocobos stampeded through disorientating the pirates.

"Trevor, Kit, are you guys okay?" Miranda appeared and cut the two down.

"Miranda, am I glad to see you," Trevor said getting up and summoning his keyblade.

"I'm afraid that you won't be going anywhere," Bagheera said stepping out of the confusion. "You're coming with us, Trevor. Back to the Forsaken."

"If you want to do that, then you'll have to get pass me," Miranda said steadying her katana.

"Very well then," Bagheera magically summoned a rapier. "En garde!"

Before anyone could fight, Vincent fired off a few rounds. "Allow me to take care of this, Bagheera," the gunman said as he approached the keyblade. Before he could get ten feet of Trevor, an Aeroga spell trapped him. "What the-" Vincent looked over and saw Bonkers grinning like a maniac.

Baloo was off to the side, waving for everyone to follow him. "Everyone, stop playing around and follow me."

"What is going on, what is going on?!" Don Karnaģe yelled as he tried to avoid being trampled by the chocobos. He looked up and saw his prisoners escaping. "After them!!!" he ordered his Heartless minions.

Baloo, Kit, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers raced toward the Seaduck while a horde of Airpirate Heartless chased them. "What about your delivery?!" Trevor asked the bear pilot.

"Forget about them," Baloo said opening the door to the cockpit. "Besides, what's more important, some dumb birds or my friends?"

"That's really nice Baloo, but could you start up the plane before we become Heartless fodder?" Trevor said in urgency.

"You got it," Baloo said as he started up the plane. They barely managed to take off as the Heartless was closing in. "Close but no cigar," the pilot said when they put some distance between them and the Heartless.

"Sorry that you're going to lose the plane, Baloo," Kit said after awhile. "But I tell you what, I have this treasure and since you guys are the first people to stand up for me I'll share with you!"

Baloo laughed at this. "Thanks little breeches, but I don't think your bottle cap collection could help."

"It's not that, it's a big glowing jewel," Kit pressed on. "Why do you think the pirates are after me?"

"A jewel?!" Everyone said at once.

"You mean it?" Baloo asked desperate for the money.

"I hid it at Louie's."

"So that's why you wanted to go back to Louie's so bad," Miranda reasoned.

"I could buy back the Seaduck!" Baloo rejoiced.

"You could buy a whole fleet of Seaducks!" Kit oversold.

"How about we go get it first thing tomorrow morning?"

"Do we have to wait till tomorrow?" Trevor whined a little.

"Unless you want the plane to crash in the ocean because of a low fuel tank," Baloo warned.

"Well then, tomorrow it is," the keyblader gulped.

**KH-KH-KH**

The next morning, Kit was busy trying to wake Baloo up while Trevor was talking to Bonkers and Miranda. "I had another dream about the young blonde woman last night," Trevor confessed. "Every one of those dreams feels real somehow. Like they aren't dreams, but forgotten memories."

"Well, maybe your amnesia is finally clearing," comforted Miranda, "I'm sure that you will remember everything in no time."

"Time to get going," Baloo said as he danced around the room.

"We should go to Louie's fast, Baloo," Trevor warned. "It's past ten o-clock and you could lose the plane."

"Relax; the bank is not going to sent anyone this early in the morning." As soon as Baloo said that there was a knock on the door. The pilot opened the door and a female bear with brown hair, a purple sweater, and dark blue pants stepped in. "Relax everyone, it's just a customer."

"Hello, my good sir. I'm Rebecca Cunningham, the new owner of this place."

"What?!" Baloo yelled hysterically.

"When you didn't pay this morning, the bank sold the deed to me."

"Told you," everyone said to Baloo.

"You must be Baloo," Rebecca said looking around the place. "The bank said you are a terrific pilot."

"Well, that's true," Baloo said inflating his ego.

"I'm inclined to add: sloppy, careless, and crude," Rebecca said gesturing to the horrible condition the shack is in. "I'm been looking for a failing business like this for some time. And now that I've pour my life's savings into this, I'm going to turn this place into a real money maker." Ms. Cunningham wiped the dust of a nearby dresser. "Yes, this place needs a woman's touch."

"That's what I keep telling him," Miranda empathized.

"Now listen you!" the pilot warned Rebecca.

"No, wait Baloo," Kit said pushing the pilot back. "Remember the treasure. We can go get it and buy back the Seaduck."

"Yeah, that's right! Well, enjoy yourself Miss Manager," Baloo called out to Ms. Cunningham. "We are heading to Louie's."

"Not in my plane, you aren't," Rebecca ordered as she snatched the keys from Baloo's hands.

"Wait one spinning minute, the Seaduck is mine!"

"Not according to the bank," Rebecca reminded Baloo.

"That's it!"

"Mommy, do I still have to wait in the car?" Everyone turned around and saw a young bear girl, with blue overalls and a pink shirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry honey," Rebecca apologized. "Come and see our new place. Everyone, this is my daughter, Molly," Rebecca introduced. "We're going to stay here till we find an apartment."

"Wow, can I keep my room this messy," Molly mused as she and her mom look for a room in decent condition.

"Now lets be reasonable, lady," Baloo said not going to take this lying down. "That plane is my baby."

"Fine, fifty thousand dollars and she's yours," Rebecca said smartly. "In the meantime I have an opening for a staff pilot."

"Hey, if you think I'm flying for you, brown eyes, then you got your hair too tight."

"Then how are we going to get to Louie's?" Trevor reminded Baloo.

When the keyblader said that, the pilot did a 180. "Come to think of it, I would love to be your pilot, Becky"

"Good," Rebecca rejoiced. "And it's _Rebecca _and not Becky." She turned and looked at the rest of Baloo's friends. "Now who else do you have on staff?"

"Kit Cloudkicker, ma'am," Kit stepped forward. "I'm the navigator."

"Well, every pilot needs a navigator," Rebecca reasoned. "As for you…" Ms. Cunningham pointed toward Miranda. "I will let you keep your post as secretary."

"I never was secretary," the cop said lifting an eyebrow.

"Of course you were the secretary, it's not going to be him," Rebecca pointed to Trevor.

"What?!! Just because I am a woman doesn't mean that I can only be a secretary!"

"Miranda, calm down," Trevor said trying to pull the cop back. "Remember, this world is stuck in the 1930's, they don't know any better!"

"Okay, if she's not the secretary then what was she?" Rebecca inquired.

"Uh…," Trevor was trying to think of something quick that didn't go against the world order. "Well, you see…"

"She's our private entertainer!" Bonkers blurted out.

Everybody looked at the cartoon bobcat with shocked; they couldn't believe what he just said. "Bonkers!" Trevor chided as he pulled the bobcat aside. "The word 'entertainer' can have many connotations! And some of them are completely negative!"

"What's so negative about being an entertainer?" Bonkers asked confused. "They sing, they dance; what's wrong about it?"

"I see!" Rebecca blushed as she stared daggers at Miranda. "So you are a woman of low morals!"

"I'M NOT A WOMAN OF LOW MORALS!!!!!!" Miranda yelled.

"It must be nice being men of the world! Having a private entertainer to accompany you!"

"Mommy, I want to be an entertainer too. If that's mean I get to fly in a plane!" Molly said innocently.

"See what you have done!" Rebecca yelled as she covered her daughter's ears. "You have corrupted my child!!"

"She's not an entertainer!" Trevor said hoping he could reserve this.

"So what is she then?!" Rebecca demanded.

The keyblader has to think of something fast or their cover could be blown. "Me, Bonkers, and Miranda are bodyguards!"

"Bodyguards?" Rebecca raised a questioning eyebrow. "Baloo needs bodyguards?"

"Yeah, kinda. We're hired muscle, you know, to protect the cargo. There's lots of pirates and Heartless out there, you can never be too careful." Trevor smiled nervously hoping to God his ploy worked.

"I never heard of a female bodyguard."

"Well, I never heard of a woman who own a cargo business," Miranda spat. This however wasn't true, Miranda knows lots women who have successful cargo businesses, but decided to put that aside for the sake of one-upmanship.

"Touché," Rebecca unwillingly admitted. "But I'm going to keep an eye on you three," she warned. "Well, at least I have five employees, that's a good start for a business."

A trapdoor opened near Rebecca and a middle-age, raggedy lion climbed out of it smelling like a garbage dump. "Hey Baloo, I finally fixed that sewer pipe!" he stated.

"You mean six," Baloo corrected the new owner. "Our mechanic, Wildcat. Hey Wildcat meet Rebecca Cunningham, our new boss."

"Really," Wildcat said excited. "Well you smell really good for a boss."

"Thanks…" Rebecca said disgusted as she turned to Baloo. "This is our mechanic? He couldn't tell a screwdriver from a bus driver."

"Oh yeah?" Baloo defended Wildcat. "Watch." The pilot took a telephone and smashed it with a hammer. "Oh Wildcat, I think there's something wrong with the phone."

Wildcat took a look at the phone, "You know what, you could be right." In three seconds Wildcat fixed the phone and handed it over to Baloo.

"See, I told you," Baloo gloated.

"Well, at least someone is useful around here."

**KH-KH-KH**

In downtown Cape Suzette, Shere Khan, a tiger entrepreneur with a decent built, was pruning his rare Venus flytraps in his penthouse office. This was his only time to relax and stop thinking about work. Unfortunately for him, he was interrupted by one of his employees. "Mr. Khan, Mr. Khan!" a shinny tiger said shaking all over, afraid what his boss will do to him once he delivered the news.

Shere Khan said nothing at first. He said pulled off his gloves and sat behind his massive desk. "Speak," he said in a deep, commanding voice.

"Uh… I have an update on the stolen stone sir," the employee said twisting his tail with his hands.

"It's been found?"

"Uh… Not exactly sir, but you'll be happy to know we located our pilot, safe and sound."

Shere Khan didn't care about some unnamed two-bit pilot he could replace on a moment notice. What mattered was his top secret project and he needed the stone to complete it. "Where's the stone?" he asked knowing he is not going to like the answer.

"It's been st-st-stolen," the employee managed to stammer out.

"By whom?" the tiger boss said getting more ticked off by the second.

"Air pirates," the employee cringed.

"I spend years building Khan Industries into the biggest corporation in the world. I discovered that business is like a jungle. You see, there are the eaters and there are the eatens. Find those pirates, if you know what's good for you."

"Yes, sir," the shiny tiger bolted out of the office like a bat out of hell; he obviously didn't want to spend another second in his boss's office.

Shere Khan leaned back in his chair and sighed; he needed to find that stone.

"Good help is hard to find, isn't it, Shere Khan," said a voice in the midst of the shadows of the office.

"Who's there?" the tiger demanded. "Show yourself!"

Bagheera stepped out of the shadow and removed his blue hood. "Hello again, Shere Khan. Long time, no see."

"And who are you?" Shere Khan said getting ready to call security.

"That's right; you are not the same Shere Khan. Although, you share many of his qualities."

"Start making sense or I be forced to call the cops," the tiger ordered.

"As of late, I've been questioning the motives of my organization and the steps I have to perform to get this world back to normal. I want to test you to see if you are the _real_ Shere Khan or merely just a facsimile. If you are the real one then I will proceed with the Forsaken's plans, if not then I will accept my fate and live in this reimagining of my world."

"Wrong choice of words," Shere Khan said as he picked up the phone.

"Mowgli," Bagheera said flatly. As soon as the name left the panther's lips, Shere Khan teased up; so much that he crushed the phone receiver in his right hand and clawed at his desk with his left hand. This astounded the tiger who was normally well composed and in control of his emotions. So why does that name make him feel like he needed to kill something? "I see," Bagheera said observing the tiger's actions. "You _are _the real Shere Khan. Even though, you have a different past, a different life, in your subconscious you have memories of the tiger you used to be. That means that Baloo and Louie are probably the real ones too. That also means that all three of you are like Trevor. The universe has rewritten your memories to suit its own needs. But that also means that Kit is the inaccurate portrayal of 'him;' of Mowgli. And that's why I need to steal his heart, so I can make things right again."

"You're not making any sense. Who are you and who or what is a Mowgli?!" Shere Khan demanded.

"Mmm?" the panther looked up. "Oh, never mind me, I was just rambling. I guess I will proceed with the plan." Bagheera opened a dark corridor and was about to step into it. "You know, I really envy you, Baloo, and Louie. You three got to start your lives over, while I was forced to wander through the darkness." The panther entered in the portal leaving behind a very confused Shere Khan.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor and Bonkers helped Rebecca put up the new business sign for their company _Higher for Hire_. The new owner was filled with pride as she stepped back and took it all in; she's a business owner!

"This will never work," Baloo grumbled. "Who will go to any business with a name like Higher for Hire?"

"Oh no?" Rebecca showed Baloo an order form. "What if I told you I just landed us the Fandango Mango account?"

"You're pulling my propeller," the pilot said shocked, but as soon as he said that a truck pulled in with dozens of mango crates.

"Set the crates right in there," Rebecca said the truck pointing to the Seaduck. "Alright Baloo, I made the deal and you deliver the goods," she said as she handed the pilot the plane's keys. She stared daggers at Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers. "And _you_ three, protect the cargo at all cost!"

Trevor and Bonkers smartly saluted and said "Yes, ma'am," but Miranda grumbled under her breath. Apparently there's still bad blood between her and Rebecca.

"Mommy, can I go on the plane too?" Molly asked tugging on her mother's pant-leg. "Oh please, oh please?"

"Sorry sweetie," Rebecca patted her daughter's head.

Molly defiantly held up her doll, "But I promised Lucy!"

An idea stuck Kit on how to calm Molly down. "Lucy seems scared right now, but maybe she'll be ready to fly next time."

"Okay Kit," she smiled and skipped away.

Within a few minutes, Baloo, Kit, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda left Cape Suzette and were cruising at an attitude of 900 feet. "We sure pulled the wool over Rebecca's eyes, didn't we?" Baloo stated as he high-fived Miranda.

"Ah, she's not so bad," Kit said. "I kinda like her."

"Well, maybe she knows business," Baloo admitted. "But she was a lot to learn about planes! I wish I could see the look on her face if she knew we were going to Louie's instead of our delivery."

"But how she's goin' to know?" Bonkers asked.

Right on cue Molly popped in holding her doll. "What about Louie's?" she asked.

Everyone turned around and stared at her with shock. "Molly!" they cried in unison.

"Lucy not scared anymore," she said holding up her doll.

"Molly, how did you get in here?" Miranda asked still shocked.

"I hid in the mangoes," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh great," Baloo cursed. "You shouldn't have come here little lady and now I would have to take you back."

"Oh please take me with you, I will be real good," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but this is for your own safety," Trevor said hoping to end the discussion.

"Well, okay. Mommy probably didn't want me to go to Louie's anyway. But I'm going to tell her you guys are going to have a good time."

"You don't have to tell your mom about Louie's," Baloo panicked.

"Oh I won't…if you take me along," Molly said cutely.

"The kid's an extortionist," cried Trevor.

"She probably got that from her mother," Baloo said under his breath.

"Well, I guess we are going to Louie's," Kit sighed.

In about a half an hour, they arrived at Louie's. It first the first Trevor laid eyes on the owner, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he met him somewhere before. "This is crazy," he said to Miranda. "I know for a fact that I never met Louie, but somehow I know him."

"You are experiencing jamais vu," the cop said.

"You mean déjà vu," the keyblader corrected.

"No, you see déjà vu is when you feel you have experience something before you exactly experience it. Jamais vu is perceiving something that you have never seen or experience before."

"So Kit, where's that treasure?" Baloo asked.

"Follow me," Kit led everyone upstairs where he retrieved the chest from its hiding place.

"I feel a fortune coming on," Baloo rejoiced as Kit opened the chest. The young cub pulled out an oddly shape red-orange jewel and showed it to everybody. Baloo took the jewel and handed it to Louie, "Could you give us the lowdown on what this jewel is worth?"

The orangutan studied the jewel closely, going 'oh' and 'ah' a couple of times. "Yowza," Louie finally said.

"So how much is 'Yowza,'" the pilot said greedy rubbing his hands.

"Nothing coz, it's not a jewel," Louie said honestly.

"What?!" everyone yelled.

"Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. It was manufacture, man-made my man."

Louie tossed the manufacture jewel and Trevor caught it. The jewel gave off an eerie glow as it lay in his hands. "Guys, I think there is more to this thing than-" He didn't get to finish his sentence, he was consumed in a brilliant flash of light. When the light faded, he noticed that he was wearing different clothes. He had on a pilot's jacket, a pilot helmet with some goggles, leather gloves, cargo pants, and brown work boots.

"Holy cow, he looks just like a pilot!" Bonkers said in awe.

"I must of gain a new drive form," Trevor said in shock and sure enough, the words _Aviator Drive Form_ floated in his mind. His summoned his weapon and a new keyblade appeared. The whole keyblade had a gray tint to it, the teeth were a propeller, the guard had a straightforward, relaxed design giving the wielder more maneuverability, and at the end of the keychain was a small plane. "This keyblade is called _Wild Blue Yonder_," Trevor said amazed as he stared at his weapon.

"Trevor, you're floating," Miranda said.

"I'm not _that_ excited Miranda."

"No, I mean you're really floating!"

Sure enough, Trevor was hovering a few feet from the ground. "Holy crap, I can fly!" In another flash of light, Trevor was back in his normal clothes holding the jewel.

Baloo however was still ticked off that the jewel was worth nothing. He snatched it from the keyblader's hand and threw it in the trash. "Aw nuts," he cursed.

"I don't get it," Kit said trying to figure everything out. "If the rock is so worthless, why did Karnaģe went through all of that trouble to steal it from Shere Khan?"

"Shere Khan? _The _Shere Khan?"

"Why does that name send shivers down his spine?" Trevor questioned.

Baloo wasn't listening; he went over to the trashcan and tried to retrieve the rock. However, when he touched it, he received the biggest electrical shock of his life and was sent flying to the opposite wall. "Maybe this 'rock' is worth something after all," Baloo mused.

Everyone hurried outside to the Seaduck. "When we get back, we'll pay Mr. Khan a visit," Baloo explained. "Maybe there's reward moola for the rock."

"Hey look, birdies," Molly said pointing up at the sky.

"Those are not birds…" Miranda said in shock.

A couple of air pirates planes appeared and started firing upon the Seaduck. "You guys get in the plane, Bonkers, you're with me." Before the bobcat could object, Trevor grabbed his hand and ran along the dock. "**Aviator Drive Form!!**" he yelled as he and Bonkers fused together in a bright light. Trevor jumped off the deck and flew toward the pirates.

In one of the pirate planes, Vincent was getting annoyed and antsy. "Take over the controls for me, Bagheera. I'm going hunting." He climbed out of the plane and jumped.

"Just don't kill him!" Bagheera yelled after him. "Zackary says we need him alive!!"

Vincent and Trevor clashed in midair, attacking each other with everything they got. The keyblader quickly found out that his new drive gives him superhuman speed and he used it to dodge Vincent's bullets.

"Stop moving around so I can hit you!" Vincent demanded as he tried to take aim.

"Sure, why not," Trevor stopped and pointed his keyblade at the gunman. "Fira!" A gigantic fireball appeared and launched itself, with rapid speed, toward Vincent. Vincent barely managed to dodge the spell and escaped with only the bottom of his cape slightly singed. "I see, so this form also boosts my magic abilities," Trevor said in realization. "In that case…" The keyblader charged his body and his weapon with a Thundaga spell. "Take this: _Thundaga Break!!!_"

The keyblader rushed at Vincent and stringed together several devastating combos dealing Thunder damage. The gunman dodged the last blow and began to distance himself from his opponent. Vincent called forth several Aeroplane Heartless and they came flying toward the keyblader.

"It just never ends," Trevor cured as he readied his keyblade.

Meanwhile, Baloo and the others are trying to shake off Don Karnaģe and his crewmen. "Why do they keep chasing me?" Baloo wondered out loud as he tried to dodge the pirates' bullets. "Quick, you guys grab me some mangoes," Baloo ordered. Miranda and Kit hurried to the back, grabbed several crates of fruit, and brought them to the front. Baloo grabbed a couple of fruit and tossed it out of the window. "Here's fruit in your eye!!" Most of fruit managed to hit some of the pirates in face causing them to crash into the sea.

Kit looked out the window and saw that Trevor was beginning to have trouble fighting Vincent and the Heartless. The cub pulled out his trusty collapsible air glider and came up with a plan. "Baloo, do you have any rope?"

Kit grabbed some rope from the back, tied it to the plane, opened the back hatch, grabbed some mangoes, and leapt out with his glider at hand. The cub began to 'air surf' as he started attacking the pirates by pelting mangoes at them.

Elsewhere, Trevor managed to destroy another Heartless, but three more pop up. He was feeling his fatigue and knew his drive won't last long.

"So your new form has its limitations," Vincent mocked. "It gives you incredible speed and boosts your magic power, but it also decreases your defenses and doesn't provide you with a lot of Hit Points." The gunman pointed this gun at the keyblader. "Time to say goodnight, Trevor."

"Goodnight!" Vincent turned around and Kit clobbered him with a mango. Kit proceeded to destroy the Heartless around him in the same fashion. "This way," Kit called out to Trevor as he traveled back to the plane.

Once in the plane, Kit and Trevor closed the hatchway and then the keyblader collapsed on the floor, splitting himself into Trevor and Bonkers. Miranda helped Kit pick up the keyblader and the cartoon bobcat. "You three are crazy," she chided but was glad that they are safe.

"Yeah, but we are still surrounded. How do we get out of here?" Kit lamented.

"Well then, there is only one way left," Baloo said as he pulled the plane up in an 85 degrees angle. The pirates followed suit and just when all hope seem to be lost, Baloo opened the cargo hatch and the entire mangoes supply fell out of the plane. The falling fruit managed to jam the pirates' engines (no pun intended) and they fell out of the skies like lead balloons. "You know," Baloo stated, "I lose more good cargo that way."

**KH-KH-KH**

When they have arrived back at Cape Suzette, Rebecca was furious. Exactly, that was an understatement; she was completely pissed off. "I can't believe it! My plane is ruined, my shipment is destroyed, and I was only in business for one day!!"

"It was air pirates I tell ya," Baloo trying to calm Rebecca down.

"Why would pirates want mangoes?! Besides, if that's true then what happened to our hired muscle?" She stared daggers at Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers which cause them to fidget a little. "I don't believe your story for a second; all of you guys are up to something."

"Mommy, he's telling the truth!" Molly said trying to convince her mother. "Me and Lucy stored away and then Mister Baloo dumped the fruit to save me from the pirates."

Rebecca's mouth was agape; she couldn't believe that Baloo and the others were telling the truth. "I guess I own you guys an apology." She took Molly and headed back into the shack.

When Rebecca was gone, Baloo pulled out the stone from his pocket. "Come on you guys, we need to go to Shere Khan so we can get the reward money."

"Do you think it's smart just to walk in the office with it?" Kit asked.

"Say, you're right little breeches," Baloo walked in the house, grabbed Molly's unattained doll, and stuff the stone in it. "We better leave it here; don't want to tip off our hand too soon."

The five of them headed to Shere Khan Corporation building in downtown Cape Suzette. It wasn't hard to miss; it was the tallest building in the city. They had to go through a lot of red tape just to get in the front door. After a couple of minutes of arguing and begging, they found themselves in Shere Khan's penthouse office.

Once again, Trevor experienced jamais vu when he saw Shere Khan for the first time. It was strange, he could tell that Shere Khan had something sinister underneath that business man façade, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"So you see, Mr. Khan, if we could get the stone back, what would it be worth to you?" Baloo haggled.

"Well Mr. Baloo, that stone, as you call it, is an electrical alloy developed by my scientists," Shere Khan said with authority.

"So that's why it zapped me," Baloo said recalling the incident where he got shocked.

"I will make it worth your while to return it. What do you say to a hundred?"

"Only a lousy hundred bucks?" Baloo said feeling gypped off.

"A hundred _thousand _lousy bucks," Shere Khan corrected him in mild droll amusement.

"Sit tight, Shere Khan baby, we'll be back before you can say Seaduck!" Baloo rejoiced as they left the office.

All of them raced back to Higher for Hire so they can retrieve the alloy and claimed the reward.

"We made out like a bandit!" Trevor said thinking about what the do with his share.

"Ha-ha, a hundred thousands smackers!" Baloo cried out as he rubbed his hands together. "It looks like my luck is finally going to change! Now I can buy my plane back and get out of here!"

When they opened the door, they discover that the place has been ransacked. Miranda picked up a note left lying on the floor and began to read it, "Unless you return the stone, you will never see your friends again. Seriously yours, Don Karnaģe."

**Next Chapter: Plunder and Lightning**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Rebecca Cunningham: Talespin(1990)

Molly Cunningham: Talespin(1990)

Wildcat: Talespin(1990)

Shere Khan: The Jungle Book(1967)

**A/N:The next chapter will conclude the three part Talespin story arc. I may not update as regularly as I have before, because of school and other stuff going on in my life. But don't worry, I will update as soon as I can, so stayed tuned.**


	14. Plunder and Lightning

**A/N: I'm not dead! Sorry that I haven't updated sooner, Calculus 1 really takes up your time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

* * *

**Chapter 13: Plunder and Lightning**

Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, Baloo, and Kit were all in the Seaduck heading out of Cape Suzette. Kit was busy looking at a map trying to navigate them to Pirate Island.

"Look, I'm in favor of rescuing Molly," Baloo said to Kit, "Heck, even ol' Becky, but we don't know where they are."

"I do," Kit lamented. "Pirate Island."

"Uh? Nobody knows where that is."

"Once you pass the cliffs, fly 1-6-0 south, southeast."

"Kit, how do you know so much about the air pirates?" Miranda questioned.

Kit remained silent and continued to study the map.

"Come on Kit, we are all friends here," Baloo said trying to get Kit to talk, but to no avail.

"Did the pirates kidnap you?" Trevor asked. Silence still. "Maybe…maybe your father was a pirate."

That was the right button to push. "No," Kit protested. "_I_ was a pirate! All of you happy now?!" Kit got up from his seat and paced in the back of the plane. "You see…I never had a family, no home. I hook up with Don Karnaģe's gang about a year ago. But I got sick of them, so when I saw that stone I thought, 'Hey, make your move.' And that's when I ran into you guys."

"Aww, forget about them, little breeches. For now on, you're with me."

"Thank papa bear."

'_Little breeches, papa bear… Why does that sounds so familiar,'_ Trevor thought, knowing he heard the phrases somewhere before.

After a few hours, they reach an island with jagged pecks and two active volcanoes. A deep and heavy mist covered the edges of the island making it look like it was floating in a sea of clouds.

"There it is, Pirate Island," Kit announced.

"Where, behind the volcano?" Baloo questioned.

"No, in the volcano," the young navigator said matter-of-factly. "But it's safer the use the back way. Now come in low and fly through that fog bank."

"That's solid rock down there," the pilot worried, but nevertheless he did what he was told and wound up flying in a secret cave entrance.

Baloo landed the Seaduck in an underwater stream and the group made their way through hideout. More than once they had the avoid booby traps set up by Don Karnaģe. Luckily, they had Kit who knew where each traps were so they can travel the hideout safely and only once Bonkers got his hand caught in a bear trap.

They arrived in the dungeon area, which is pretty much several craved out caves with wooden doors to each cell. Guarding these cells was a Large Armor Heartless, when it spotted the group, it charged right for them. Miranda and Trevor tried to attack it, but their attacks keep bouncing off.

"This thing is a tough egg to crack," Trevor dodged the Heartless' arm swing and rolled over to the side to distance himself.

Miranda tried to look for a weak spot in the armor, then realize only one spot wasn't protected. "Aim for the head!"

The keyblader leapt up and preformed a three-hit combo on the creature's head causing it to fall over and flail around like a fish out of water. Trevor and Bonkers simultaneously fired a Firaga spell while the Heartless was down, and destroyed it releasing its heart.

When the Heartless was destroyed, it dropped a piece of paper. Baloo picked it up and realized it was the deed to the Seaduck. He guessed that the Heartless stole it from Cunningham when she got here. He put the deed in his pocket for safe keeping.

"Ms. Cunningham, Molly, are you in there?" Kit yelled looking for them.

"Kit, Baloo," Rebecca called out as Trevor unlocked the cell with his keyblade. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're saving you, isn't that obvious?" Baloo said.

All of a sudden, red lights began to flash in the caves and an alarm was sounded. "What's going on?!" Trevor covered his ears and tried to yell over the noise.

"Karnaģe is back, we gotta get!" Kit yelled and led everyone down a corridor to the front entrance. However, they were too late, the entrance opened and Don Karnaģe's air carrier ship, the Iron Vulture, slowly made it descend. "Everybody, hide!" the cub yelled and everyone hid behind a stack of crates. Once the aircraft landed hundreds of Heartless and pirates came out of it, carrying their daily plunder. One could tell that the pirates (with the exception of Don Karnaģe) were uneasy with the Heartless. The pirates wouldn't even go near the creatures of darkness, and it didn't help that the Heartless outnumber them two-to-one. Furthermore, Don Karnaģe had so many kinds of Heartless under his control: Shadows, a few Neoshadows, at least fifty Yellow Operas, more than twenty Air Pirates, Aeroplanes, Air Solders, a baker's dozen of Soldiers, thirty Snapper Dogs, five Pirates, and two Green Requiems.

The groups watch as Don Karnaģe order around a couple of Neoshadows. "Alright, you Heartless take those fish bowls to the workshop and do… shop work on them." The Heartless obeyed and carried crates full of fishbowls to down a corridor to the left. "Another profitable looting is complete, yes, no?" Karnaģe addressed his crew.

Then one of his crew members, a weasel named Mad Dog, stepped forward. "A thousand groveling pardons captain," he said is a whiny, nasally voice. "Can we ask you just one little question?"

"Speak up; my door is always open sometimes"

"Oh," Mad Dog said thrilled. "Well, lately we have been skipping the valuables, and swiping flagpoles and wires and fishbowls and stuff…"

"Yes, yes," Don Karnaģe waving off his crewmembers' concern. "What is your insignificant, little point?"

"What is all this junk for, we don't understand."

"Of course, you don't understand," Don Karnaģe yelled. "That is why I'm in charge and you all are bit players!" Then in mock regret he said, "Did I hurt your feelings?" Mad Dog nodded his head yes and the pirate captain only smiled. "Good, this is all part of my master plan. Do you not see?" All of his crewmen said 'No' causing Don Karnaģe to slap his forehead. "Very well then, I would just have to show you."

Karnaģe led his crew to his secret workshop and Trevor and the others followed, being careful not to get caught. In the workshop, Bagheera and Vincent Valentine were overseeing the Heartless construction of a massive laser weapon. "Voila," Karnaģe said as he showed everyone the gun.

"Ohhhhhh," his crew said in awe even though they didn't know what they were looking at.

"Come everyone, get a closer look. Thanks to Bagheera, and his copy of _Electronics for Dummies_, soon we will have a handy device that will get us into Cape Suzette!"

"Are we going to rob it?" Mad Dog said willing.

"No, we're going to plunder it!" Karnaģe corrected him. "And after we plunder Cape Suzette, we will use this Lightning Gun to destroy Naraku and take over the inter-circle! Once we do that, we will control KINGDOM HEARTS!!!!!!!" All of his crewmembers began to cheer, even the Heartless seem happy.

"Naraku?!!!" Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers yelled in a harsh whisper.

"Yeah," Kit whispered back. "Naraku is like some sort of leader of a secret society of villains. He was the one who gave Karnaģe technology to leave this world, so the gang can rob other worlds. But something happened, and Don Karnaģe was kicked out of the group."

"Whoa, slow down kid," Baloo said trying to comprehend all this. "What do you mean other worlds? Are you saying that ol' Karny been making deals with aliens?"

"More like a demon," Kit shivered a little. "That guy gives me the creeps."

"Wait, you saw what Naraku looks like?" Trevor said in surprise. Maybe this was the information they were looking for, maybe Kit can help them stop Naraku once and for all.

"I saw him only once and I never been the world he was from," Kit admitted. "But he had dark, long hair, piercing red eyes like hellfire, and he wore clothes like he was from the Far East." Trevor memorized what Kit said, now they know what the creep looks like. "But it's not him I'm worried about," Kit said after a few seconds.

"What do you mean?" Miranda asked wondering who could be worst than Naraku.

Kit bit his lower lip, "When I first saw Naraku, there was somebody else with him. I didn't catch his name, but I will never forget what he looks like. Brown hair, brown slacks, white dress shirt, black notebook; he looked like he was going to some sort of prep school. But, there was something off about him, like…I can't describe it, but it was like he was worse than a demon. A living monster in the form of a man."

Trevor thought about what the cub has said and knew who he was talking about. "Light…" he said bitterly.

"But what a minute," Mad Dog asked Karnaģe. "What wrong with robbing, aren't we robbers?"

"No!" Don Karnaģe shouted, "We are _pirates_! Pirates, pirates, pirates!!! How often must I remind you?"

Vincent wasn't listening to Karnaģe, because he always thought the captain was full of hot air. He grazed his eyes around the crowd of pirates and spotted his once-time friend. "The keyblader and his friends are here," he announced and fired a bullet toward the direction of Trevor.

Trevor dodged the bullet, but it only put him out in the open. Two seconds later, they were surrounded by Heartless and pirates with no hope of escape.

"So it the keyblader, his friends, the fat pilot, and the annoying business lady," Don Karnaģe said. "Wait a minute, wasn't she locked up?"

"It's obvious that she escaped," Bagheera said flatly. "The real question is whether or not they brought the stone with them. So we can complete our machine."

"Stone, what stone?" Baloo said playing dumb. "I don't see any stone."

"Don't be the clever guy with me," Karnaģe yelled. "None of you are qualified!"

"Give us the stone or die," as soon as Bagheera gave that ultimatum the Heartless started closing in.

Kit's mind was going at warpspeed trying to find a way to save them all. He arrived at one conclusion, and he didn't like it, but it was the only way. "Hiya, gang I'm back!!" he shouted drawing attention to himself. "Did you miss me?"

"Kit, what are you doing?" Baloo yelled.

"Can it runner-rump," the cub yelled as he made his way to Don Karnaģe. "Yo captain, howado!!" he said confusing everybody.

"What are you talking about, you juvenile delinquent?" Karnaģe folded his arms not believing the boy.

"I'm talking about what you taught me; the ol' Karnaģe hustle. First I pretend to be their friend so I can wrangle up some ransom money from Shere Khan."

"What ransom money?"

"Hundred thousand dollars," Kit said knowing that would be hook-line-and-sinker.

"Really," Karnaģe and his crew said impressed. Even Valentine looked astonished.

"I was going to steal the rock back and give everything to you. That was until these guys," he pointed to the crew, "messed it up by grabbing the lady and the kid. But it's all good captain; I manage the bamboozled these clowns into bringing me back."

"Kit…," Bonkers said crestfallen.

"Kit, don't do this," Trevor pleaded. "It's not too late, you can-"

"Can it, keyblader," Kit interrupted. "Once a pirate, always a pirate!" Kit went over to Molly, grabbed her doll, and took out the stone. "So, what do you think of my plan, Karnaģe?" he said as he tossed him the stone.

"You, my boy, are a refreshing addition to my normally thick-headed crew," Karnaģe said as he looked over the stone.

"Now, uh, how about we let these saps go, huh?" Kit said hoping to get everyone out of there.

"Don't be so silly, I don't let anybody go."

"Well then, eat our gold dust!" Trevor grabbed a bag of nearby gold dust threw it to create a smokescreen. Once the pirates were blinded and coughing, he and the others fled going down the cavern they hoped was the way out.

"Shoot them!!" Karnaģe coughed. "Shoot them a lot!!!!!" but it was too late, they were gone.

They made it to the Seaduck and hurried inside. "What about Kit?" Rebecca pleaded. "We can't just leave him here!"

Baloo said nothing and just started up the plane and flew as fast as he could away from Pirate Island. It wasn't fast enough, the air pirates were gaining on them and there was no way Baloo can fight off the pirates this time. "I was hoping that I didn't have to use this," he said as he pressed a huge red button. As soon as he pressed it, the Seaduck broke the sound barrier and left the pirates in the dust. After a minute, he turned the button off leaving everybody bewildered.

"What was that?" Rebecca said trying to get over the shock.

"A little something I added," Baloo said pointing to the button. "Use it too long and the engines overheat. And then its boom-boom, bye-bye."

As soon as they landed in Cape Suzette, several men grabbed them and tossed them in a limousine. Every time they tried to get answers from the men they would answer, 'You know what this is about.' In ten minutes, they arrived at the Shere Khan Corporation building and were hurried up to Shere Khan's penthouse office.

"So glad that you could stop by," Khan said from behind his desk.

"There are rules about this sort of thing, you know!" Rebecca yelled at the tycoon.

"I make my own rules," Shere Khan said standing up. "Now, where's the stone?"

"Before we tell you anything, what is this stone everyone's talking about?" Rebecca said feeling out of the loop.

"Of course, … doctor?" Shere Khan then gestured over to the corner where a short rabbit wearing glasses and a lab coat was waiting.

"The stone," the doctor began, "is actually a sub-electronic amplifier, which means it can create an unlimited amount of electricity. Enough to run all of Mr. Khan's businesses!"

So that's why you want the stone so bad," Trevor said getting it. "So you can have all the free electricity you want and never have to pay the electric bill."

"Precisely, now where is it?" Shere Khan said ticked off.

"Well, you see…we don't have it, Don Karnaģe does," Bonkers said sheepishly.

"I'm displeased Baloo. You have let me down."

"Don't tell me about being let down mister, because I'm an expert," Baloo yelled. "You let someone get close to you and then they stabbed you in the back. Well, I'm sick of being used!!" And with that Baloo stormed out of the office.

"Hmm, a very emotional man," Shere Khan rolled his eyes. "You're all dismissed." As everybody was leaving, Shere Khan stopped Trevor. "Hold on a minute, Trevor is it?"

"Yes?" the keyblader said looking up at the tiger warily.

"By any chance, do you know what a Mowgli is?"

As soon as the tiger said 'Mowgli,' Trevor felt a pain inside his head. He saw images of a burning jungle. Trevor swore he could remember a time when he was eight years old. He was separated from his family and now another boy and him were running through the jungle trying to evade whatever that was hunting them. _"You can't get away from me, man-cubs,"_ a dark voice said from the mist of the jungle.

Trevor was interrupted by an impatient Shere Khan. "Well," he said tapping his foot.

"No…," Trevor weakly said. "I don't know anyone named Mowgli." And with that, he left the office.

Shere Khan sat back down in his chair and pondered what the keyblader said. _'I said that I wanted to know _what_ a Mowgli was, but he implied that Mowgli was a _who_,'_ the tiger thought as he lean back in his chair. _'I best keep an eye on that one. He apparently knows a great deal about the nature of the world than he lets on.'_

Back at Higher for Hire, Baloo loaded his things on the Seaduck, pissed off that Kit betrayed them.

"Where are you going?" Rebecca demanded.

"I'm outta here, sister. I will try Louie's for a bit," Baloo said as he tossed the luggage in the back of the plane.

"But that's my plane!" the owner persisted.

Baloo took out the deed to the plane out of this pocket and waved it around for Rebecca to see. "Nope, I own it now. And to make it all fair and square, this gold that I stole from the pirate's hideout should cover it."

"This isn't about the stone, the plane, or even me; it Kit."

"Oh, what are you, the pirate den mother?"

"Baloo, I know it looks like he betrayed us, but think with your heart and not with your head!"

"Forget it, from now on I fly solo," then Baloo got on the plane and left.

Molly hugged her mother tight as they watched Baloo leave Cape Suzette. "Mommy, will we ever see Baloo again?" she said in a small voice.

"I don't know sweetheart," Rebecca said truthfully.

"And what about Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers? Will we see them again?"

Rebecca thought about it and realized that she hasn't seen the three since they got

back to Higher for Hire. "Wait a minute, where are those three?"

**KH-KH-KH**

In his penthouse office, Shere Khan was making several important business calls. Now that Don Karnaģe has the stone, he would have to find another to cut business cost. When he was in the middle of a call, the doctor, who helped develop the stone, burst in. "Shere Khan, Shere Khan!! I believe I figured it out!"

"Can't you see that I am busy," the tiger stared daggers that the rabbit doctor.

"But this is important!" the doctor pressed on.

Shere Khan hanged up his phone. "It had better be," he warned.

"I have been studying the list of the things that the pirates had stolen from you over the last week. Well, it's possible that they have built a machine that can focus the energy of the stone."

"And?"

"Basically, Don Karnaģe could have in his possession a lightning gun!"

Shere Khan's left eye twitched, he has been interrupted because of some crackpot theory?! "That's absurd," he said with his arms crossed. Right on cue, there was a bright flash in the sky and thunder rolled through the city. Shere Khan turned around to see that Don Karnaģe invaded Cape Suzette using the Iron Vulture and it the aircraft's makeshift "beak" was the lightning gun.

"There, see!" the doctor said frantically. "I told you!"

"Yes, I now believe you," Shere Khan picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes, get me the Air Field."

**KH-KH-KH**

Minutes later, a large number of Shere Khan's planes started attacking the Iron Vulture. Needless to say, Don Karnaģe was not amused. "They think to stop me with their puny type planes?! Well, see if they like this! Fire!!!!" The lightning gun then fired several rounds destroying all of the planes. Once the last plane was destroyed, Karnaģe got on the intercom to address the city.

"Attention, attention," he began. "Hello wonderful people of Cape Suzette. Allow me to introduce myself, a man who needs no introduction, I am Don Karnaģe! For years I have tried to visit your fair city, but you have always shotted at me!! However, now that I am here, you will hand over all of your money and valuable knicky-knacks to me! Okeydokey? … I didn't hear a _yes_." Karnaģe then turned to his crew and shrugged. "I will just have to soften them up a bit." With that, they fired the laser several times at city causing massive damage.

Kit was horrified at what Don Karnaģe was doing. "I gotta stop this," he said to himself. He grabbed a rubber glove and crept over to the machine. He then grabbed the stone and ran for his life.

"Put it back!!" Karnaģe ordered.

"Make me!" the cub yelled back. Kit ran to the radio room and locked the door. He got on the radio and called for help. "Mayday, mayday!!! If anyone could hear me, anyone who can fly, this is little breeches. Somebody get word to Baloo; tell him that little breeches has a message from him!!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Back at Louie's, Baloo was dancing and drinking drinks from a coconut shell. "Hey Louie, isn't this the life? No worries, no bosses, no obligations."

"Yeah, coz," Louie said wiping down the counter. "Keep saying that every five minutes and you will believe it in a year or two."

"What's that's supposed to mean?" Baloo said bitterly.

"It means that you know that Kit is innocent." Baloo turned around and saw Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers staring at him with disapproval.

"How did you three get here?" the pilot said not happy to see them at all.

"We stored away in your plane," Bonkers said.

"Great, can't I go anywhere without somebody stealing away in my plane these days?"

Miranda ignored his comment, "Baloo, you know that Kit was trying to save us."

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

Just then, a golden retriever pilot burst in looking worried. "Is there anybody here named Baloo?!" he asked.

"You're looking at him," the bear pilot said flatly.

"Well, there is a distress call for you and from someone named little breeches."

Louie turned on the radio and Kit's voice filled the room. "…can't stop them from wreaking the city. But I tried… Please tell Baloo, tell papa bear, I'm his navigator…"

"You guys were right," he apologized to Trevor and his friends. "He didn't double-cross me. We gotta get back to Cape Suzette!"

They all boarded the Seaduck and Baloo fired up the engines.

"How are we going to get there on time? Cape Suzette is so far away," Trevor wondered.

"I will use the overdrive button," Baloo said as he took off.

"But I thought you said it will overheat your engines if you use it for long?"

"It doesn't matter, Kit is in danger." Baloo pressed the button and they sped toward the city.

**KH-KH-KH**

Don Karnaģe finally opened the door to the room that Kit locked himself in and approached the boy with murderous intent. "There you are, you naughty, little nuisance. Now hand over the stone!" the captain said venomously. Kit rushed past him and ran toward the beak of the Iron Vulture. He was about to jump off the plane with his glider when Karnaģe caught him. "Boy, my boy, you cannot make the fool of me twice." Don Karnaģe grabbed the stone from Kit and tossed him aside.

The captain then grabbed Kit's glider and broke it into two. "So Kit Cloudkicker, you will kick the bucket instead of the clouds." He then laughed at his bad joke and walk toward the lightning gun. "From now on, I will easer you from my list of noble pirates."

"Noble?" Kit spat. "You are nothing but a cheap crook, Karnaģe."

"A cheap crook? Let's see how you feel about that after a little dirt nap. Bagheera kill him!"

"With pleasure," the panther picked up Kit and tossed him out of the aircraft. Before Kit could fall twenty feet the Seaduck came, Baloo grabbed Kit from midair, and pulled him inside.

"Someone saved the boy?!!" Karnaģe yelled stomping in place. "Shoot the plane down, shoot it down!!!!"

The pirates tried to shoot down the Seaduck, but it was too fast. Soon the Seaduck was out of range.

Inside the Seaduck, Kit was still in shock, "You guys came back for me."

"Of course," Baloo said. "Every pilot needs his navigator."

Once they made sure that Karnaģe wasn't following them, they headed over to Higher for Hire. There Baloo was arguing with Rebecca on whether or not should they leave the city.

"Come on Becky, throw your stuff in the Duck and let's scoot!" Baloo persisted.

"Baloo, I told you I'm not leaving!" Rebecca insisted.

"Be sensible, will ya?"

"I can't, this is my home."

"But Karnaģe is going to deep-fry the whole city any second! Come on you guys, back me up and talk some sense into her."

"I agree with Rebecca, we need to stand here and fight," Trevor said with his arms crossed. One by one, everybody crossed their arms siding with Rebecca and Trevor.

"Okay, okay, I give," Baloo said with his arms throw up. "But there is not going to be much left when Karnaģe is done with the city."

"That's why we bring the fight to him."

"Oh no, I'm not the hero type. Besides, how are we supposed to get close enough when Karnaģe has his lightning gun?"

"Don't worry," the keyblader said. "I have a plan."

A few minutes later, the group managed to cover the Seaduck with anything and everything rubber. "This should protect us from the lightning," Miranda said wiping her hands.

"Well now it's time to pay ol' Captain Karnaģe a visit, right gang?" Baloo said rallying everybody.

"Right," everyone said including Rebecca.

"Now hold on, Becky," Baloo protested.

"It may not be my plane anymore," Rebecca insisted, "but I owned the tires that this plane is covered in, so I go!"

"Well, okay, just get in," the pilot give. "We're going to bag us a lightning gun!" Baloo started up the engines and flew toward the Iron Vulture.

When they got close to the giant aircraft, Don Karnaģe fired the gun at them, but just like Trevor planned, the rubber tires absorbed the electricity. The pirates fired twice more, but it had no effect. "Nothing can stop us now," Trevor said thrilled that his plan worked.

"You guys better hang on," Baloo said as he picked up speed. "We are going to destroy that lightning gun once and for all." He then crashed his plane into the machine destroying it and most of his plane. What was left of the plane fell out of the Iron Vulture and started plummeting to the sea. "We are going into a tailspin!" Baloo yelled. "Brace yourselves!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the Iron Vulture, Don Karnaģe was in a state of shock. "They have beaten me… How did they do that?" His question was interrupted by the sound of Shere Khan's reinforcement coming in. "Retreat, retreat! Full steam backwards!!"

"We can't retreat now!!" Bagheera yelled. "We need to find a way to rebuild to gun quickly and use it to destroy Naraku!!!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Karnaģe said. "We must run away, so we can fight another day."

The panther clenched his fist; there was still one more thing to do in Cape Suzette. "Ran away with your tail between your legs, Karnaģe. I, however, choose to stay and fight! Come on Vincent!" Bagheera opened a portal and he and the gunman stepped in it.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor washed up on the beach near the city. He got up slowly and coughed looking for the others. "Is everybody alright?!" he called.

"I fine," Miranda said a few feet from him. "Just a little bruised."

Bonkers appeared from a small sand dune and spit up a bucket full of sand. "I'm here," he said weakly.

Kit and Rebecca both appeared to be fine. "We're okay, but where's Baloo?" Ms. Cunningham asked.

Then they all saw Baloo, a few feet away from him, sitting down on the beach, holding what's left of his plane. "My baby…," he lamented.

"Don't worry Baloo, we can always get another plane," Rebecca tried to comfort him.

"My baby…," Baloo repeated.

"Look on the bright side, at least we are still alive," Trevor stated.

"My baby!" Baloo broke down.

"But Baloo, we won!" Kit pressed.

Baloo got up and tossed the small piece of his plane away. "I guess you're right. Don Karnaģe was defeated and we save Cape Suzette."

"Not quite…" Everybody turned away and saw Bagheera and Vincent staring straight at them. "I have a couple of aces up my sleeve," the panther pulled out an orb from his right sleeve and showed it to everyone. The orb looked like a large marble with dark smoke swirling around in it. Trevor can have sworn he saw piercing red eyes in it. "Do you know what this is, Trevor?" the panther asked. "It's called materia. It used to be red, but over time I poured the power of the Heartless into it, hence it's dark color. Let's see if you can defeat the creature that dwells within it."

Bagheera crushed the materia and threw the pieces in the air. The pieces reformed into a ball of purple light and ascended into the clouds. Dark clouds started to gather and lightning rolled across the sky. Finally, the sky spit in two and a huge reptilian head with the horns of a ram descended. Attach to this head was a large black dragon-like body with six bat wings, and a very long, spiked tail. The monster was about 80 stories high from tail to head with a wing span of 70 stories. The beast gave a giant roar and the Heartless emblem on its chest glowed a violent purple.

"Behold, the terror of the sky!!!" Bagheera said with satisfaction. "It's-"

"Bahamut, the god of dragons," Trevor said in frighten awe, somewhat surprised that he knew the beast's name.

Bahamut opened its mouth and fired a gigantic energy beam toward the city, wiping out one-third of it.

Trevor was sacred out of his mind, but he knew what he must do. He grabbed Bonkers and went into his Aviator Drive Form and soar in the sky to attack the dragon Heartless. The keyblader tried to attack the monster, but the attacks keep bouncing off. Bahamut noticed this and stared at the keyblader went its dead yellow eyes.

'_Trevor Birch…seed of Matthew Birch…what a pleasant surprise.'_ Trevor was shocked beyond all reason. The Heartless was communicating with him telepathically. _'Do you seek my power like your father did long ago?'_ it continued. _'Or perhaps you wish to destroy me for your own amusement?'_

"You-you knew my father?" Trevor stammered.

'_Your father made a summon pact with me long ago, but over time he feared my power… He then imprisoned me in a blank materia to conceal my power.'_

"So you do know my father. Do you know where he is?! I want to know!!!"

Bahamut gave a low growl, which was loud enough to shatter several windows in the city below. _'I told you, youngling. Your father imprisoned me, because of that I broke off the summon pact. I cannot sense Matthew Birch even if I tried. How long I waited to get my revenge on that wielder, but I suppose devouring you, son of Matthew, would be a close second.'_

The Heartless roared and lunged itself at the keyblader, with its mouth agape. Trevor managed to dodge the beast, but got hit by its tail in the process. He spiraled down several feet in the air before he regained control and went after Bahamut. The gigantic Heartless turned around and shot a large plume of hellfire at the keyblader. Trevor dodged and fired a Blizzaga spell at the monster, but it had no effect. Bahamut spread open all of its wings and fired several lightning bolts. Trevor cast NulShock to cancel out the spell, but some bolts got through the barrier and struck him.

'_He just way too powerful,'_ Trevor thought. _'Only if there was some way to defeat him, some sort of spell.'_ The keyblader felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. When he blacked out, he found himself remembering something, like a far-off dream.

**KH-KH-KH**

It was a memory of himself when he was a boy, only seven years old. Next to him was a teenager around the age of fifteen who had dark hair and wore glasses. In front of them was a tall man in a grey Italian suit with the same dark hair as the teenager. Next to the man was a woman that had long flowing brown hair.

"Today I will teach you both a spell that has been in our family for generations," the man said. "It's a powerful spell, and shouldn't be use lightly. Also, it's difficult to master."

The teenager huffed and adjusted his glasses. "I bet I can master in two minutes," he boasted.

"Don't be so sure, _(static)_. Even I had difficulty learning it," the woman said.

"No way, mom," the young Trevor said. "But you are, like, the best Black Wizard ever!!"

The woman smiled at young Trevor and placed a hand on his head. "Even the most experienced, the most strongest, of us have difficulty from time to time."

"So what's this spell called?" the teenager wondered. "Why it's so important to our family?"

"Because," the man said, "Our ancestor created this spell. It is one of the three most powerful spells in the universe. It's able to transcend both darkness and light."

"A spell can do that?!" young Trevor said in awe.

The man smiled. "That and so much more. This spell is called-"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke and found himself in a very vulnerable position. Bahamut was about to unleash another round of Hellfire and he was in range. The keyblade lifted his keyblade and pooled together all of his mana. "THE SPELL IS CALLED **ULTIMA!!!!!**" he shouted.

The sky became amber and Trevor glowed a golden yellow. From the tip of his keyblade three golden Eastern dragons came forth and charged at Bahamut. The three dragons merged into one massive dragon and hit the Heartless. The gigantic Heartless started to evaporate leaving behind a giant floating heart.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the beach, Baloo, Kit, Rebecca, and Miranda were cheering. "I knew you guys can pull it off," Miranda said never doubting Trevor or Bonkers.

However, two people weren't celebrating. "Well, there goes that plan," Vincent said bitterly. "Time to head back, we wasted enough time in this world."

"Coward!!" Bagheera cursed. "We can still pull this off. I can get my world back, bring Trevor to our side, and rally the pirates to attack Naraku!!"

Vincent stared at the panther with dead eyes. "Trevor just defeated a dragon god and you want fight him at your current level?" He opened up a dark corridor and went in it. "Have fun dying," he called out before the portal closed.

Bagheera clenched his fists. He _will_ bring Trevor to their side, he thought.

**KH-KH-KH**

Shere Khan and his employee watched Trevor's battle from the penthouse office. The gears were turning in the tiger's head as he planed his next move. "Doctor…" he said without taking his eyes away from the window.

"Yes…," the rabbit doctor said nervously.

"I want you and your team to start on a new project. You will be granted unlimited resources."

The doctor jaw hit the floor; he couldn't believe what his boss just said. "But sir, what is the project?"

"To create a keyblade," the tiger said as he sat down at his desk.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor panted in midair as he watched the giant heart flowing above the city. _'Why didn't the heart go back to Kingdom Hearts?'_ he wonder. Then the heart glowed and Bahamut, in his real form, appeared before him. _'Oh great, here we go again…'_

But to his surprise, Bahamut wasn't looking for a battle. _'Thank you for freeing me from the accursed darkness, son of Matthew,'_ the dragon god thank him. Bahamut's true form was twice as small as his Heartless' version. Its scales glowed a deep blue, it only had two wings, which had blue and crimson red feathers, and the horns on its head were gone.

"Uh…you're welcome," Trevor managed to get out.

'_I shall lend you my power, wielder of the key. Use it well.'_ Bahamut burst into thousands of lights and went inside of the keyblader.

Trevor felt stronger than ever before, still he had to wonder was his father somewhere out there? Was he looking for him? He wished he knew more.

He descended down to the beach where he spilt into himself and Bonkers, and Miranda hugged them both. Before the reunion could be started, Bagheera interrupted them.

"So, Trevor, learned anything new," asked the panther. Trevor readied his keyblade, but Bagheera held up his hands to show him he didn't want to attack him. "Calm down, I just want to talk," he stuck one of his hands in his jacket pocket and pulled out a picture. "And to show you this."

Bagheera threw the picture and Trevor caught it. He looked at the picture and his mind was doing back flips. In the picture was himself when he was eight, a teenage boy, and a man and a woman. "This is my…my-" with that, he blacked out.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor found himself in a world filled with mountain islands and has a soft, cool breeze blowing through it. He was on top of one of these mountains where there was a castle on it. He looked around a recognized it immediately. "This is the _Land of Departure_!!!" he said shocked.

He spotted his younger self play-fighting two older kids with wooden keyblades. One of them was the teenager from the picture, who Trevor now recognized. "Zackary, my brother!" The other teen his younger self was fighting was a boy who looked a lot like Sora, expect he had blond hair. The keyblader ponder about this trying to remember the teen's name. Then it hit him, "Ventus, that's it!" He watched as his younger self dodged very one of the attacks. Both Zackary and Ventus charged him, but he blocked both of the attacks and reflected them making the older boys take a couple of steps back.

"Watch that footwork, Trevor," said a voice behind him. Trevor turned around and saw the man from the picture. He knew it was Matthew Birch. "Dad!!" he cried out, but this is only a memory and his father could not hear him.

Next to his father was a man whose outfit had a Japanese flare to it. The keyblader also knew who this man was. "Master Eraqus?!"

"Your sons show excellent prowess in fighting," Eraqus said to Matthew.

Matthew smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, although Trevor is the one more skilled in fighting. Zackary excels in magic. I remember when he was two years old, he accidentally froze half of the living room!" Both men chuckled at this as they watched the boys fight. "Although I'm afraid that Trevor doesn't have the heart necessary to obtain the keyblade. Zackary does, but Trevor…" his father trailed off not revealing what's on his mind.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Eraqus said at last. "I could take young Zackary as my pupil. Trevor too, and then we will truly see if he's fit to wield the key or not."

Matthew shook his head, "Thank master, but I think it would be best if I trained them myself."

"But do you think it's wise to train them while traveling throughout the worlds? You know about the world order."

"I want my sons to train in every kind of environment as possible. Besides, it will only last for six months and we will only stay on a world for three days max."

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck, and give my regards to your wife, Ginger."

"Will do," Matthew said as he gave a two-fingered salute.

"Oh, and Master Matthew," Eraqus said. Matthew turned around. "If you see Master Xehanort, keep an eye on him. I fear he is going down a path that no keyblader should follow."

Matthew nodded and then everything became white.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke finding himself bending over the picture. "This-this is a picture of my family…"

"Finally," Bagheera exclaimed, glad that Trevor finally gets it. "And the leader of our organization is your older brother, Zackary."

"You're lying!!!" Trevor said picking himself up. "Zackary would never work with a bunch of villains like yourself!"

The panther laughed out loud. "You think we're villains?! Nearly all of the members of the Forsaken were heroes or honorable people from their home world!"

"So what happened?"

"Kingdom Hearts happened. Our worlds were destroyed and when they were brought back they were changed. Many of our friends, our families, were erased from existence. We became nothing more than outsiders in our own home. So we outsiders band together and formed the Forsaken. We will do whatever it takes to bring back our world. And your brother gave us the means to do it."

"That's not true!" the keyblader pressed.

"Put the pieces together! If your brother wasn't behind this, than how did Marsupilami get his hands on your family's crest? And how did I receive a picture of your family?"

"Shut up!!!" Trevor yelled not wanting to hear this.

"If you don't believe me, then come with me and see for yourself!" Bagheera extended his right hand.

"I don't think so," Trevor pointing his keyblade at the panther.

Bagheera sighed and summoned his magic rapier. "Then I'm afraid I will have to kill you." The panther raced toward the keyblader with his weapon readied. Trevor then parried the attack and rolled out of the way.

Bonkers launched a Firaga spell, but the panther jumped out of the line of attack. Miranda then rushed Bagheera and performed countless of attacks with blinding speed, but the panther evaded every one of the attack with one hand behind his back and his eyes closed!

'_He's toying with me!'_ Miranda thought. Bagheera then jumped ten feet in the air and brought his sword crashing down. The female cop jumped out of the way and prepared her next attack. "Dodge this: **Zeninage!!!**" Miranda tossed countless of munny at the panther, who couldn't block the attack.

As Bagheera was reeling from Miranda's attack, Trevor came from the side and launched a powerful Blizzaga spell. The panther sliced at the spell causing the ball of ice to explode. When the smoke cleared, everyone was shocked at what they saw. Bagheera was still standing, but in his hand was a keyblade. The keyblade looked exactly like the rapier he had a few moments ago, but the keyblade was more slender and the teeth of the keyblade was in the shape of an "E" in bold print.

"What…you're a keyblader too?" Trevor said not believing what he is seeing.

"Of course not," the panther said. "Your brother use the spell _Reverse Osmosis_ on everyone is the Forsaken."

"_Reverse Osmosis_?" Trevor said remembering the spell. "But that is a forbidden keyblade technique. It let the keyblader gave portions of his power to someone else, increasing the non-wielder's strength ten-fold. Giving them powers they were not meant to have."

"That's right. And thanks to it I am now able to fight beings such as yourself." Bagheera began charging up and one could see the energy flowing around him. "So keyblader, ready for round two?" He unleashed an energy wave causing the three friends to scatter. The panther then fired three balls of energy at each opponent.

Everyone dodged the attack and proceeded to regroup. Both Trevor and Bonkers unleashed a Thundaga spell and made a direct hit. Miranda then rushed forward and performed several combos. Bonkers was about to cast Graviga when Bagheera cast Reflect causing the bobcat's spell to be bounced back at him. Trevor leapt in the air, feeling the darkness rise up within him again, he brought his keyblade crashing down on Bagheera who blocked and reflected the attack.

Trevor gave a wicked smile at the panther, "You're finished."

"What are you talking about, I'm…" the panther looked at his faux keyblade and saw Trevor's last attack shattered it. When he looked back up again, Trevor was already on him. The keyblader executed out slash and then it was over. Bagheera closed his eyes and laughed. "Well done, keyblader. I guess I will see you in the afterlife." With that, the panther burst into gray smoke.

"Wow," was all that Baloo said. "You guys sure know how to fight."

"Yeah…" Trevor said making his keyblade disappear. "Although, sometimes it feels like a curse."

"Hey, Baloo," Rebecca said. "I know you are brokenhearted about your plane being wreaked, so I have a proposal to make. I will rebuild the Seaduck, but there's only one condition; you and Kit must work for me."

Baloo looked at Kit. "Hey, that's fine with me."

The bear pilot rubbed his chin and then came to a decision. "Becky, you got yourself a deal!"

Then, a piece of the wreak Seaduck started to glow and floating in midair. It transformed itself into a giant keyhole and Trevor locked it.

"You three are not ordinary bodyguards, are you?" Rebecca said with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"You can say we are bodyguards for the universe," Trevor said with his keyblade on his shoulder. "And it's time for us to go."

"Will we ever see you guys again?" Rebecca asked.

Trevor thought about this for a minute. "Perhaps, if the wind blows this way again." Three then turned around and walk away from the pilot, the business woman, and the cub.

**KH-KH-KH**

"But you promised," Miranda said to Trevor when they got back on the Heart of Gold.

"You're right, you're right," the keyblader sighed. "It's time to tell Leon the truth. Eddie, make a call to Leon."

"You got it boss," the computer chimed and seconds later Leon was on the screen.

"Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers," Leon began. "I didn't expect a call from you so soon."

"We have some news for you, most of it is pretty disturbing," the keyblader said.

Leon lean back in his chair. "Go on."

"It turns out that the Forsaken wants to capture me."

The president of Radiant Garden looked shocked. "But why?"

"There a chance…a good chance that the leader of the group is my brother, Zackary, who is also a keyblader."

Leon looked down, deep in thought. "You're right, that _is_ disturbing."

"He is also using a forbidden technique called _Reverse Osmosis_ to make other members of the group stronger than they originally were," Miranda added. "Some of the members are strong enough to make false keyblades."

Leon was silent for a long time. "Trevor, where do your allegiances lie?" he said at last.

To be honest, Trevor didn't know. On one hand he could help save the universe, but that would mean having to fight his brother. But on the other hand, if he helps his brother a lot of innocent people will get hurt. "I just don't want any good people to get hurt. Also, I want to find out the truth. If I have to fight my brother to get both, then so be it."

The president nodded. "Alright, Trevor. I will pass this information down to the other keybladers. Though, I fear that they are not going to like it… If you received anymore information then contact us, _immediately_." Leon cut the feed and the screen went blank.

"So where do we go from here?" Bonkers questioned from the couch with he feet on the table.

"We go where the truth is," Trevor answered.

**Next Chapter: A Star is Born**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Mad Dog: Talespin(1990)

Matthew Birch (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Ginger Birch (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Ventus: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Master Eraqus: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

**A/N: I finally finished this chapter! The next chapter will star both Sora and my OC Cynthia. So, all of you Sora fans will have something to look forward too. Also I will include Zim and Gir in the fanfiction at the request of chaosglory626.**


	15. A Star is Born

**A/N: When you thought it was safe to read a Kingdom Hearts fan fiction, I have returned! Sorry for the lack of updates, but now it's summer and more chapters are on the way.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 14: A Star is Born**

"No, no, no, and a thousand times, _NO!_" Hades yelled from his dark throne in the underworld. A few feet in front of him, was one of the reasons he was so agitated lately; Negaduck. "I have given up on Kingdom Hearts," the god of the dead yelled. "I'm sticking with some realistic goals for a change."

"Like?" Negaduck said with his arms crossed, tapping his left foot.

"Taking over Mt. Olympus and becoming the supreme god for starters. And after that? …well, I don't know. Once I dethrone my brother, I'm sure I will think of something. Baby steps and all of that."

Negaduck closed his eyes, rubbed his temples, and let out a huge sigh. The things he'll do for power. "Naraku will pay handsomely for your services," the duck bargained trying to get the god to join the inter-circle.

The god of the dead let out a huge laugh, in fact he laughed so hard he clutched his sides. "What on earth could that _half_-demon could possibly give me? I am a god; compare with me Naraku is a puny, little thing with a couple of magic tricks! And he actually thinks he could _buy _me?" Hades let out another round of deep laughs and slapped his knee. "Oh boy," he wiped a tear from his eye. "I haven't laughed like that in eons."

Negaduck fumed, he doesn't have to put up with this. He was the ruler of his own dimension for God's sake! "If you're not going to take me seriously then I can take my offer somewhere else. Personally, I am glad to get away from this dump."

"Oh, but you should be getting use to these surroundings, Negaduck." The duck turned around and saw three ghastly looking, old women, who literally looked like walking corpses. They were all dressed in black clocks and had no eyes in their sockets, expect for the shortest one who only has one eye socket.

"And who are you three broads suppose to be?" Negaduck fumed, not believing he has to put up with such foolishness.

"My sisters and I," the tallest woman began, "are the three Fates. We oversee the fates and destinies of all living things. There's nothing in the past, present, or the future that isn't known to us."

Negaduck just rolled his eyes. '_Great,' _he thought, _'now I have to deal with delusional old women.'_ "What's any of this have to do with me?" he demanded.

The second-tallest fate ripped out the eye of the shortest fate and put it in her right eye socket. "We know your future Negaduck and we came with a warning; you are in the last days of your life. In a few days time, you will die and your soul shall dwell in this accursed underworld forever and eternity."

"WHAT!" the villain duck yelled. "You're all out of your gosh-darn minds! Like I will die anytime soon."

"I would pay attention if I was you," Hades warned. "Even we gods have to adhere to the Fates. All of their prophecies have been one-hundred percent accurate."

Negaduck was furious now, "Well, you can take this prophecy and shove it up your big, blue-"

Hades decided he has heard enough; there was only so much a god could take. With a snap of his fingers, he teleported the annoying duck back to his master, Naraku. Now that problem has been dealt with, he could focus his attention on more important matters. "Ladies," he addressed the three Fates. "How does the future look for me and my plan to conquer Mt. Olympus? Good, I hope."

The tallest Fate grabbed the eye from her shorter sister and put it in her left eye socket. "Your time is at hand, soon the planets will be aligned and the Titans will be free. They will be yours to command and with their power you shall overthrow Zeus and become ruler of all."

"Yes," Hades shouted in jubilation. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"But be warn," said the shortest Fate who jumped up to grabbed the eyeball from her taller sister. "If you don't find a way to deal with Hercules, he will thwart you plans and all hope of you becoming the master of the universe will be lost."

"_Jerk-ules…,_" the god curse under his breath. "He has been a thorn in my side ever since the day he was born." Several ideas floated around his head on how to get rid of Hercules, each more tempting than the last. Finally, he cracked a huge, wicked grin. "Hercules only has one weakness and that is his heart. His girlfriend Meg use to be on my payroll. I say it is time for me to… _rehire_ her."

"And what would you do to the out-worlder?" the shortest Fate questioned.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The master of the keyblade!" the Fates said in unison. The tallest Fate took out her sister's eyeball and Hades' throne room was filled with white light. Slowly a vision of Sora began to take form. "Sora…," the tallest Fate said when the vision was fully manifested. "The steward of the Kingdom Key, a keyblader of light, and a threat if there ever was one. You must strike him down as soon as possible or you can kiss your dreams of conquest goodbye."

The lord of the dead grunted, if there was one person he hated more than Zeus and Hercules, it was Sora and his menagerie of friends. "What do you lovely ladies suggest?"

The women grinned and giggled excitedly like little schoolgirls. Finally, the shortest of them spoke up. "To defeat an out-worlder you must hire an out-worlder and to defeat a keyblader you must hire an archenemy of the keybladers."

"And what in the _heck_ is that suppose to mean?" Hades bellowed.

"They mean, hire me pops," out of the shadows came forth a woman with jet-black pointy hair, very pale skin, a green stripped outfit, and pointed ears. "When I was alive, they called me Ryoko," the Bleak introduced herself. "And I can kill this keyblader for you, but only on one condition."

Hades was intrigued by this woman's bold calm. "Alright, what's the condition?"

Ryoko focused her dead, empty eyes on Hades'. "When I kill Sora, you must promise me you will help me find a man called Tenchi."

**KH-KH-KH**

The Highwind gummi ship zoomed through inner-space heading for its next destination. Inside the cabin, Sora and Riku were fighting whom gets to pilot the ship, Kairi was writing in her diary, and Chip and Dale were doing maintenance in the far corner of the cabin.

"But it's my ship," Sora argued. "I piloted it a whole lot longer than you."

"I way I heard it, Donald was the pilot," Riku pointed out as he pushed Sora out of the pilot's chair.

"So, I have seniority over you."

"Seniority doesn't count went you keep crashing the ship into meteors."

Sora blushed; he quickly remembered the time when he accidentally crashed the ship into _Deep Jungle_ during his first adventure. "Who told you that?" he demanded.

"Chip and Dale, who do you suspect?" Riku said as he slowed down the ship about two knots.

Sora stared daggers at the two chipmunks. "Traitors!" he accused them, however the chipmunks took no notice of him.

"And since Donald is not here," Riku continued, "I think it would be safer for all of us if I do the driving around here."

The spiky-haired keyblader sighed and sank into a nearby chair, giving up. "You won this round," he mumbled. However, the argument only reminded him that Donald and Goofy were not with him on this adventure. Instead, they are helping King Mickey find answers in all of the chaos that surrounded them. Even Jiminy Cricket was with the king, so Kairi volunteered to be their chronicler. Even though he was sad that he couldn't be will Donald and Goofy in this adventure, Sora was glad he could that least spend his time with his two best friends.

"We are approaching a world," Riku said as he slowed the ship down. "From the looks of it, it's the _Olympus Coliseum_."

"Finally," Kairi said putting aside her diary, "It feels like we were cooped up in this ship for months."

"Well, I'm taking the ship down."

"Do you think we will find anything about Naraku on this world?" Kairi questioned as she gathered up her things.

"I don't know," Sora said truthfully. "We couldn't find anything on the other worlds we visited… However, I'm sure our luck will turn around."

When the three keybladers set foot on the world, they immediately looked for Hercules and Phil. However, when they reached the coliseum they could not find anyone.

"Strange…" Sora commented. "I thought they would be here, Herc and Phil are always training."

"Maybe, they stepped out of a bit," Kairi suggested.

And so they waited, seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. Soon it was sunset and there was no sign of Hercules or Phil.

"Ugggghhhhh! Where could they be?" Sora paced around. "It's been, like, two hours and there still no sign of them!"

"What I'm more concerned with," Riku began, "is that there is no sign of the Heartless."

"Riku's right," Kairi got up and dusted herself off. "I don't sense any dark presence. Maybe Naraku and the Forsaken didn't target this world; maybe it holds no interest to them."

Sora thought about, what Kairi said was possible, but he didn't want to take that chance. He needed to see Hercules before he would consider leaving this world. "Let's look around some more. We might as well do a thorough search."

"Now, he wants to be thorough," Riku rolled his eyes.

The only two places Sora has been on this world was the coliseum and the underworld, he had not idea that the rest of the world was just as grand. The world was filled with green hills, temples, and gardens. As sunset rolled into evening and evening into night, they decided to rest in a secluded garden filled with statues and fountains.

"My feet are killing me," Sora complained. "And still no sign of Hercules."

Suddenly, they heard faint voices coming from over the hedge. The three keybladers poked their heads through the hedge and saw an attractive brunette speaking with the god of the underworld. "Isn't that Meg?" Sora said confused. "What is she doing with Hades?"

"I no longer work for you Hades," Meg yelled at the god. "Thanks to Hercules, my contract with you was terminated."

"Meg, baby, just once more, for old time sake." Hades was trying to win her over, but Meg wasn't giving in to his tactics like she used to. "Come on Meg, how many men walked out on you in your life? Deep down, you know that one day Hercules will leave you. I mean look at him, he's a hero and can have any woman he wants. One day he is going to get bored…"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Meg yelled. "Hercules won't betray me and I won't betray him. So why don't you hit the road Jack and don't come back anymore." Sora, Kairi, and Riku silently cheered when Meg turned her back on the god and started to walk away. When will Hades learn that he can't toy with people's lives?

"So we have to do this the hard way," the god of death said as he cracked his knuckles. With a snap of his fingers, Meg was bound and gagged. "You should have went with me Meg, evil is a lot more fun."

"Let her go!" Sora yelled as he and his friends jumped from inside the hedge.

Hades groaned and rolled his eyes. "So the spiky-headed peanut gallery is here. What's this? Your dog and the annoying duck are no longer with you? What a minute, I recognize these two. Riku, long time no see, so how's the darkness treating you?" Riku inwardly seethed, he hated to be reminded about his treachery. "And the girl must be the seventh princess of heart, Kairi," the god continued. "Boy, have you grown up. If only I was a few thousand years younger…"

"Whatever it is you're planning, we're here to stop it!" Sora pointing his keyblade to the death god defiantly. "Especially if you are working with Naraku."

Hades' left eye twitched. "You don't have to worry about that. I have no interest in what that half-demon is planning." The god had to mentally slap himself to be reminded that he was on a tight schedule. "I will love to stay and chat, but I have upheavals to plan, brothers to dethrone. But don't worry; I have a special surprise for you three. You will just have to wait for it." With that, Hades and Meg disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"What do you think Hades is trying to do?" Kairi asked with concerned.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Sora said. "I dealt with Hades twice before and he has a knack for using innocent people, like Cloud and Auron to do his dirty work. We cannot allow that to happen to Meg. We must find Hercules."

"That's what we been trying to do for the past couple of hours. Where do you think he is?" Riku asked, somewhat exasperated.

Sora thought about this for a while. "Let's check back at the coliseum. He should be back by now."

Sora, Kairi, and Riku raced back to the coliseum, praying they could warn Hercules before it was too late. Sure enough as they reached the gates, they heard Hercules' and Hades' voices.

"What have you done to her?" Hercules demanded.

"Nothing, she's fine," the god of death lied through his teeth. "But if you really want to rescue her, then you better get a move on now. You know how the Underworld is full of perils that no mere moral can tolerate for long." With that message, Hades vanished in a pillar of black smoke.

Sora wanted to hit the god in the head with his keyblade, but he arrived on the scene too late. "Hercules!"

The demigod turned around, "Sora! Hades got Meg! I don't know how he did it…"

"We know Hercules, we saw the abduction, but were powerless to stop it."

Hercules clenched his fists, "I'm going to rescue Meg, if it's the last thing I do!" He then burst through the coliseum doors and ran straight into the underworld.

"Wow, he reminds me of you Sora when you were searching for Kairi," Riku commented with his arms crossed.

Both Sora and Kairi blushed, neither of them knowing how to act in this awkward moment. "We should follow him," Sora said with a cough. "Just to make sure he's all right."

It didn't take long before they caught up with Hercules in the Underworld. All four of them navigated the dark caverns that lead them underground. As the miasma surrounded them and drained their strength, Sora cursed himself for forgetting to bring the Olympus Stone with him. They finally reach a place in the Underworld where the walls of the caverns opened up revealing a large room. In the center of the room was a silhouette of a woman floating in mid-air.

"It's about time you four showed up," the woman spoke. She landed on the ground and stepped closer to them. With each step, the heroes could see her more in detail: her green-striped clothes, her dark overly spiky hair, and oddly enough, a tail. However, when she was ten feet a front of them they could clearly see that she had the mark of the Bleak on her forehead.

"You're a Bleak!" Sora yelled as he summoned his keyblade.

"Wow, you catch on fast," the Bleak remarked sarcastically.

"Who are you and what have you done with Meg?" Hercules demanded.

The Bleak snorted and casually scratched her forehead. "My name is Ryoko and as far as your girlfriend, I don't know where she is. You would have to ask Hades." Ryoko cracked both of her knuckles. "Okay, which one of you wants their butts kicked first?" The heroes just raised their weapons, "So all at once, heh?" Ryoko cracked a smile, "This should be fun."

Ryoko fired an energy beam from her right hand causing the team to scatter. Kairi immediately cast Shell on the entire party to protect them from the Bleak's power waves. "Stop scurrying like rats!" Ryoko hissed. She raised both her hands and gather up energy that was so unstable the air crackled with lightning. She brought both her hands crashing down and the whole area was struck by lightning. Everybody received heavy damage and the discharge was so powerful it knocked everyone off their feet.

"Sora, what you thinking what I'm thinking?" Riku coughed.

"That this lady must go down and fast? Yes," Sora said as he quickly picked himself up.

"Short, sweet, and powerful?"

"Sure, let's do this."

Sora and Riku charge the Bleak, pulling back their keyblades. "Great, what are these two losers are up to?" Ryoko wondered.

She soon found out. The two friends jump in the air in unison and shouted, "XIII Swords!" Thirteen blades magically surrounded the two and launched themselves at the Bleak. While Ryoko was taking damaged, Sora and Riku performed a barrage of sword attacks on her. When the attack was over the two keybladers jumped back to distanced themselves from their attacker. Ryoko panted heavily with her clothes torn. Slowly the heavy panting turned into maniac laughter. Right before they eyes, she was healing herself.

"That was a good warm-up, but enough games. It's time to finish all of you off." As she was gathering energy for another attack, Hercules charged her. "You never learn, do you?" with that she fired several lightning bolts at the demigod. When the lightning hit, Hercules was launched several feet backwards.

"We need to do something," Sora complained.

"Yeah, but what?" Riku was open to any ideas.

"I have an idea," Kairi called out. She rushed over to Sora and grabbed his hand. "Use a drive form, _quickly!_"

Sora nodded and a bright light cloaked the two. When the light faded, Sora was standing there with a light blue version of his outfit with Oathkeeper as his keyblade. "_Divine Wisdom Drive Form_," he shouted. He could feel the magic coursing in his veins. This form was a lot like his regular Wisdom Drive Form, but the magic capabilities in this form was far superior.

"You want to dance big boy?" Ryoko shouted. "Let's dance."

The Bleak charged Sora, but he wasn't afraid. He knows exactly what to do. He held up the keyblade and shouted, "Seal of the Seven Sages: _Holy!_" Three spheres of light exited his keyblade then fused together to form a giant sphere. The sphere hit Ryoko immobilizing her and a beam of light rain down from the ceiling to deliver the final bow.

When the smoke cleared, the Bleak known as Ryoko was slowly dissipating. "Damn, I thought I could kill you," she coughed. Sora split into himself and Kairi as the other slowly move toward the Bleak. "Such power," Ryoko continued. "I thought only one who could have such power was Tenchi… Oh, Tenchi…"

"Why did you do this?" Riku demanded. "Why did you team up with Hades and what's he planning?"

"Can't a girl have her secrets?" Ryoko laughed with a cough. "As far as Hades' plan… He wanted me to kill all of you so no one could stop him in the takeover of Mt. Olympus."

"That's impossible," Hercules yelled. "My father, Zeus, wouldn't allow it."

The Bleak smirked, "Well, Hades seams so confident." Finally, the last her remains disappeared in smoke. "Death, it doesn't seem so bad now. At least in life I loved…"

"Hercules, what should we do?" Kairi questioned.

The demigod was torn; should they look aimlessly in the Underworld for Meg or go to Mt. Olympus to stop Hades? "We should go to Mount Olympus and warn the gods."

"What about Meg?" Kairi wondered.

"We will look for Meg after we go to Mount Olympus. Besides, trust me, Meg is a tough woman, she can take care of herself." The hero's heart was breaking; he was being forced to leave his beloved in the Underworld to pursue the 'greater' good. He made a solemn oath to himself that he will rescue Meg; no matter what the cost.

Hades was having a ball. He released the Titans from their imprisonment an hour ago, and most of the Olympian gods were defeated and enslaved. Even now, the ice Titan and the lava Titan were imprisoning Zeus in a column of a sickening mixture of lava and ice. The god of death was watching this on his flying dark chariot with his minions, Pain and Panic at his side. "See that boys," Hades began pointing to his brother. "Oh how the mighty have fallen. You've been ousted baby bro, and now it's time for a new king of the cosmos."

"HADES!" Zeus struggled to get free, but it was all for vain. "YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!"

The god of death chuckled. "You see, baby brother, the funny thing is I did get away with this."

"Not for long!" Hades turned around and saw Hercules, Sora, Riku, and Kairi riding on Pegasus.

"Not these clowns…," the god seethed. "I thought Ryoko destroyed you!"

"Like anyone can kill a keyblader," Sora taunted. "Give up Hades; you're outnumbered four to one!"

"Let's do a recount, shall we?" Hades folded his arms. "I have four Titans on my team, which would make it four against five genius." Sora felt a little silly when he looked around and saw the Titans of ice, rock, lava, and wind looming over them like four Mt. Everests. "Second the Titans and I are immortal, you four, however, are not. Meaning, you can die at any time. So what are you four weaklings going to do about it?"

"How about even up the odds," with that, Hercules swooped down on Pegasus and with his sword destroyed the chains of bondage placed on the Olympian gods. While Hercules and Kairi were freeing the gods, Sora and Riku jumped off Pegasus and ran toward the molten pillar. With their keyblades, Riku and Sora were able to chip away the igneous rock and free the thunder god.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Hades yelled in anguish.

"Thank you for freeing me boys," Zeus said, but there were more important matters to attend to. "Hephaestus, my lightning bolts!" he bellowed.

The recently freed blacksmith god tossed Zeus several bolts; the thunder god caught them and with the greatest of ease hurled them at the earth and ice Titan, halting them to a stop.

Meanwhile, the two other Titans was attacking the gods and winning. "Kairi," Hercules said between dodging attacks. "We need to find a way to beat these guys."

The girl keyblader agreed, through she was terrified of the Titans. After all, we are talking about immortal forces of nature. But she fought through the fear and devised a plan. "Stop," she cast, when the spell left her lips the Titans froze and succumbed to the enchantment. "Hercules, now is your chance!"

The demigod grabbed the wind Titan and started swinging it around. As he was swinging it, the wind Titan unintentionally sucked up the other three Titans in its vortex. With a last powerful heaved, Hercules hurled the Titans into deep space where they can never harm anyone again.

Hades seethed like he never seethed before. His plans were ruined; _Again!_ He spent eighteen years planning this scheme and wonder-boy and his delinquent squad foil it! "You may have won the game, _Jerk_-ules, but I get the consolation prize. And I'll tell you, she _dying_ to see me!" Everyone's mind instantly went to Meg. Before anyone could get any answers from the god of death, he flew his dark chariot away from Mt. Olympus.

"We have to save Meg!" Hercules urged everyone as he mounted on Pegasus.

Hercules bolted toward the Underworld like a bat out of hell (no pun intended). He single-handedly defeated Cerberus and stormed in the Underworld as if he owned the place.

"Hercules, wait up!" Sora called out as he and friends tried to catch up with the demigod. "We want to save Meg too!"

Finally, Hercules burst into a chamber where the river Styx flowed, and who was standing there? None other than Hades himself, holding Meg under his arm. "Let her go Hades!" the hero demanded.

"Poor choice of words," and with that the god dropped Meg into the river.

"Meg!" Hercules immediately drove after her.

When Sora and the others were about to do the same, Hades stop them. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, kiddies. The River Styx is for the dead only and if any living person goes into the river, they will slowly die. But you three, I have a special death for you three. You should feel lucky, because it's not every day someone get killed by a god!"

Just as Hades was going to launch a ball of hellfire at the keybladers, the River Styx glowed with a golden light. Everyone looked behind Hades and saw Hercules bathed in golden light carrying Meg.

"That's impossible! The only way you could survive, if you were a …" Hades yammered out in disbelief.

"A god. Hercules, you became a god," Sora said in awe.

Now Hades was nervous, this was definitely not his day. "Hercules, my favorite nephew," the god said trying to talk his way out of the mess he created. "Listen Herc, may I call you Herc? Could you tell your dad that this was all a terrible misunderstanding and that I will make it up to him one day?" The only answer Hades received from the new deity was a punch in the face that was so strong it knocked the god of death into the river. The souls of the dead began to surround Hades and dragging him into the depths of the murky deep; this was their chance at revenge and they may never get that chance again. "Pain! Panic! Get me out of here, NOW!" the god gurgled as he was being dragged down.

The neurotic, blue imp Panic cringed. "He's not going to be happy when he gets out of there."

"You mean _if_ he gets out," Pain said as he flashed a wicked smile.

Panic's eyes danced with delight, "Oooo, I like 'if.' If is good."

Meg finally came to, fully awake in her boyfriend's arms. "Why did you do that for me? Why did you save me?"

Hercules just smiled. "Like you need to ask that. People do crazy things when they're in love." The god then turned to Sora, Riku, and Kairi. "Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you."

All three keybladers blushed hard. "It was nothing," Kairi managed to get out.

A cloud appeared before them and enveloped them. The cloud then lifted them up out of the Underworld and carried them to the gates of Mt. Olympus. All the gods were there ready to welcome Hercules into godhood with open arms.

"You finally done it, my boy! You became a true hero!" Zeus rejoiced.

"You were willing to sacrifice your life for this young woman," Hera added.

"A true hero isn't measure by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart. Now at last, my son, you can come home." The gates of Olympus opened up revealing a wondrous world where no one would know pain or suffer ever again.

Hercules, needless the say, was overwhelm, but he knew what he had to do. "Father, this is the moment I always dream of, but a life without Meg, even an immortal life, would be…empty. I wish to stay on earth with her." Meg embraced Hercules like she never embraced anyone before, glad that she didn't have to say goodbye to her boyfriend. "I finally know where I belong," he finished. Hercules's parents nodded and his godly glow began to fade; he was mortal again.

Kairi sighed dreamingly. "I can't wait for the day when a boy would sacrifice something big for me. It's so romantic."

Sora shifted his weight, "Well, I did traveled all across the universe to find you… I say it's a big thing."

"What are you trying to say Sora?"

Sora blushed hard, "Well…you see…I don't know…it's just…"

Riku hung his head down and silently shook it. "You two are impossible, you know that? When are you two going to admit your feeling for one another?" Sora and Kairi blushed and stared away from each other. Riku slapped his forehead, "Apparently, not any time soon."

Everyone made their descend down Mt. Olympus and arrived at the coliseum where a very angry Phil was waiting for them. "Where have you clowns been? I ought to make all of you run laps!"

"Where have we been?" Sora said in surprise. "Where have _you_ been? _We_ were out saving the cosmos from a deranged god and his Titan minions!"

"Is that all?" Phil scolded. "Kid, around here we called that Tuesday! You should see what Thursday is like."

"Hey guys, look up in the sky!" Kairi pointed up to the heavens and the stars were rearranging themselves. Soon an image of Hercules was in the night sky; a new constellation was made.

"Wow, perhaps I did missed out on a lot," Phil said as he scratched his chin.

"Wait a minute," Riku squinted up at a piece of sky next to the Hercules constellation. "Oh no…is that…?"

"Me, Donald, and Goofy!" Sora said grinning like a fox.

"You mean you were telling the truth? I thought you were exaggerating!"

"Nope, everything that I say is true."

"Urgh…." Riku slapped his forehead yet again. "I'm not going to live this down, am I?"

Sora grinned at his best friend, "Nope!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Meanwhile, in another part of the universe, in the gummi ship Dragonfly, Cynthia was going through the logs, journals, diaries of Kairi, PJ, and Miranda. Thanks to PJ and Cid, the three traveling groups of keybladers and cohorts can not only contact one another, but also receive updates on their journeys on their ship's computer. Cynthia fancies herself as a detective of sorts, and right now, the major case was the Forsaken. Naraku's group wasn't as hard to figure out; they're just a group of villains vying for unlimited power. The Forsaken was different, they were after something else. _'If only I could find a pattern,'_ she thought after looking at what Miranda written about Bagheera. _'There's gotta be some connection between the worlds they are targeting and each member… But I can't see it…or, at least, I don't see it now.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by PJ giving her a cup of tea. "You should rest," he said. "It's not healthy to stare at a computer screen all day."

"You're worse than an overprotective mother, PJ," Cynthia said as the cat-teen blushed. "Besides, you're the one to talk. You are always on your laptop blogging."

PJ eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. "That's because there are so many interesting things to blog about."

Cynthia rolled her eyes and sipped her tea. PJ and Max were something else, yet the three became fast friends. Max's nonchalant attitude towards life was canceled out by Cynthia's Carpe Diem view on the world. Furthermore, PJ's pseudo-'motherly' instincts brought both Max and Cynthia down to earth.

"We're coming to a new world," Max said as he prepared for a landing. Data flashed across the computer screen, stating that the world was called _Tinsel Town_. The world on the computer screen looked beautiful; filled with beautiful homes, restaurants, and the like.

"Wow," was all Cynthia should say. "This world looks promising."

"Well, looks can be deceiving," Max said. "And PJ, what do we do when we see food lying in the middle of the floor?"

"Don't eat it," PJ said sadly.

"We don't want a repeat of last time," Max said with a huff.

"In my defense, those cookies had both chocolate _and _butterscotch chips in them. Who could resist that?"

Cynthia shook her head, "Alright, let's head down there. Hopefully we will find clues on this world."

"Be careful what you wish for," Max said under his breath.

The part of the world, the three landed on was filled with back-lots and studio buildings. They passed by movie stars, props, directors, and men in costumes.

"Wow," PJ said in awe. "This world sure does like to make movies."

"It's like we traveled back in time," Cynthia said looking around. "It's like the world is trapped in the year 1939."

"Great, that means they don't have an internet café around," Max huffed.

The keyblader was determined not to let the dog-teen spoil her mood. "Come on Max, live a little. Sure this world isn't the most advance world out there, but I bet there's plenty of excitement to be had here."

No sooner she said that, an anthropomorphic cat crashed into her. "Run for your lives!" he yelled. "That thing is chasing me!"

"Thing, what thing?" Suddenly a huge Heartless came crashing through. It was in the shape of a giant mechanical bull with the Heartless emblem on its head. "Oh, that thing…" Cynthia said. "Okay boys, its time to go to work!"

The three ready their weapons, and the cat stood back in awe and confusion. "You're going to fight that thing?"

"No duh," the keyblader simply stated. "It's what we do. PJ, let's do our usual routine." The Heartless came charging toward and Cynthia gave the signal. The time mage used Graviga and Cynthia used her limit breaker to transform the spell into Zero Graviga. The bull Heartless flailed in midair unable to do anything.

"I got this!" Max yelled as he leapt in the air. "_Raising Falcon!_" He brought his sword crashing down on the Heartless destroying it with one hit.

"Wow that was incredible! You guys should do that in an act!" the cat said.

"An act?" Cynthia said confused.

"Sure, aren't you here to get discovered? My name is Danny by the way."

"Hello Danny, I'm Cynthia and that's Max and PJ."

"'sup," Max said sticking in hands in his pockets.

"What do you think I should call that Heartless?" PJ said pulling out his laptop. "I'm thinking 'Bovine Mecha.' No, that's unimaginative, maybe…."

The keyblader shook her head, "We're just here to gather information and to get rid of the Heartless."

"Heartless," Danny ponder as he scratched his head. "So that's what these creatures are called? Those things have been popping up a lot lately, what's causing that?"

Cynthia didn't need to be reminded of the 'no meddling' rule, so she choose to give a vague answer. "That's what we here to find out. Say, you mention something about being discovered. What did you mean about that?"

"You know being discovered, being a star, following your dreams," Danny did a little tap number to show off his talents. "That's why I'm here; to become a big movie star."

"How's that working out for you?" Max asked.

"Well….the plan is still in the work, but hey, it is Hollywood baby. The streets are paved with gold, if I follow my heart I'm sure I will break into the business."

"Oy, again with this 'heart' stuff," Max said as he rubbed his temples.

"I was just going to a talent agency. You could join me if you like; the more the merrier."

"I don't know," Cynthia said. "We're not looking for fame or anything."

"I thought you want to be just as famous as Sora," Max said with his arms crossed. "This could be your chance, Sora never starred in a movie, but you can."

"Yeah," agreed PJ, "And it could give us a chance to learn about the inner workings of this world."

Cynthia mused this, turning the thought over and over again in her head. "Okay, let's do this! Lead the way Danny!"

On top of a nearby studio lot building, two figures were watching the Cynthia and the others. Well…one figure was watching them; the other was playing with its mechanical feet. "Gir!" the figure with the binoculars said. He was a curious looking creature, with green skin and an insect-like head. This creature was named Zim and he was looking for an opportunity to present itself. "One of the keybladers is on this world; do you know what that means?"

Gir was a small robot who was short on brainpower and has a shorter attention span. "Uh, we get to have some mashed potatoes?" he cried hopeful.

"No, Gir," Zim hissed. "It means we can capture her and present her to the Forsaken."

"So…no mashed potatoes?"

"No Gir, focus!" the alien yelled. "We need to prove our worth the Forsaken again if we want to become members; _again_. And once we do we will go along with their plans until they access Kingdom Hearts, then we will stage a coup where we will seize the power of Kingdom Hearts for the Irken Empire AND RULE THE UNIVERSE WITH AN IRON FIST!"

"Will there be tacos?" Gir said with his head tilt.

Zim sighed heavily, "Yes Gir, there will be tacos… But first we need to devise a cunning plan."

When Cynthia arrived at the lobby of Farley Wink: Animal Actors Agency it was already filled animals; a giant female hippo, an old billy goat, an old fish, and a very nervous turtle. "I don't know Danny, the competition looks tough. Do you think you can find a gig?"

"It's not about competition Cynthia, it's about the art," Danny said as he prepared to greet everyone.

No one gave them a warm welcome expect for the hippo, "Hi, I'm Tillie. Over there is Frances," Tillie pointed over to the fish woman, "And he's T.W.," she said gesturing to the turtle that was now hiding in its shell. "And the grumpy goat over there is Cranston. So, you four new in town?"

"We just arrived," Danny said with anticipation. "I heard Farley Wink gets good parts for animals."

"If you can call hanging from a hook a good part," Frances spat.

"Well at least it's a part," Tillie said optimistically.

"Oh, there's no use in trying Ms. Tillie," T.W. nervously spoke, "My fortune cookie last night said 'Give it up, you loser.'"

"Well, I figure if I work really hard, I will land a big part on Friday," Danny said eagerly.

"Danny, I don't think it works like that," Cynthia said trying to knock some sense into the cat.

"Sure it does," Danny said still filled with determination. He then spoke to his fellow animal actors, "I mean, that's how it all worked for you?"

Frances and Cranston, not wanting to crush the young cat's hope and determination, just simply nodded and played along with his delusional game.

"Now, Danny," Tillie said, "You just go in there and let Mr. Wink know you're here. They are casting for a big Noah's Arc movie; lots of work for animals! Your friends can go with you too, I'm sure Mr. Wink will find parts for them. Good luck!"

They walked in Mr. Wink's office and saw a short, balding man smoking a cigar, answering telephones like it was going out of style. "What do you four want," he yelled. "Can't you see I'm trying to cast the ark picture?"

"That's what we are here for, we want to be in the picture," Danny said full of hope.

"Well, I do need two cats to be in the picture… Hey you, the one who is bright-eyed and brushy tailed, do you think you can play a cat?"

"I am a cat."

"How would you like to be in the next Darla Dimple picture?"

"_The_ Darla Dimple?" Danny said very excited. "The sweetheart lover of children and animals?"

"So I take it, she's a very big star?" Cynthia asked.

"A big star? She's only the biggest star in Hollywood! It's every actor's dream to be in a movie with her."

"What about us, can we be in the movie too?" PJ said full of hope.

Mr. Wink rubbed his chin, "Hmmm, we could use your dog friend, as for you what are you? Some sort of cat-dog hybrid? I LOVE IT! People will never see that coming."

"What about me," the keyblader asked.

"I only cast parts for animals kid; you probably want to try the human actor agency across the street." A crazy idea popped into Mr. Wink's head. "But maybe you can be their part-time manager!"

"Part-time manager?" Cynthia said with one eyebrow raised.

"Sure, you follow them around, scout for new talent, and make sure these three won't get into trouble." Mr. Wink pulled Cynthia in closer so only she would hear what he's about to say. "And between you and me, all actors are unstable. No emotional control; especially the animal actors." He then pulled out several contracts and a black fountain pen. "Now I need you guys to sign here, here, and here."

Outside the office, a female white cat came in completely drenched. "Sawyer," Tillie spoke with concern in her voice, "What happened to you?"

"Do you walk under a ladder or smash a mirror?" T.W. asked frightened.

"Have you looked in one lately?" Cranston said in a huff.

"No, a cat crossed my path," Sawyer said with venom in her voice. "There I was minding my own business when a cat running away from a Heartless knocked me over into a fountain."

"You don't say," Tillie thought about this for a second. "Was it an orange tabby?"

"Yeah…"

"Green vest?"

"Yeah."

"Straw hat?"

"Yeah."

"Well, what a co-winky-a-dink."

"How did you know," the female cat raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, just hippo intuition," the hippo said not wanting to upset Sawyer.

Sawyer just sighed and started her work as a secretary, "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with this job."

"For the glamour," Frances said sarcastically.

"What, this pigsty? For course, unless you are talking about the glamour of filing. The romance of typing."

Mr. Wink's office door opened and Cynthia, Max, PJ, Danny, and Mr. Wink himself came pouring out of it. "Sawyer," Mr. Wink shouted. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Whatever it is, the answer is 'no,'" the female cat said putting away files.

"I need a female cat for the movie and guess who is going to play it."

"You," Sawyer deadpanned, causing Cynthia to chuckle silently.

"No my dear," Mr. Wink said straightening himself up. "I only play the dashing Clark Gable types."

"Who Clark Gable?" Max whispered to Cynthia.

"I think he was the Johnny Depp before Johnny Depp," the keyblader shrugged.

Sawyer rolled her eyes, "Frankly 'Clark,' I don't gave a-"

"Sawyer," Mr. Wink pleaded.

"I'm a secretary, not an actress."

"I will give you Sundays off."

"I never work Sundays."

"I will pay you double-time."

"Make that triple-time," the cat haggled.

"Sawyer, you're pushing me!"

"No chow, no meow."

"Fine, triple-time. Now, these guys are new in town so play nice."

That when Sawyer saw Cynthia and the others for the first time, although her focus was on Danny. "Ah, forget it. I'm not working with him."

"Nah-uh," Mr. Wink shook his finger. "A deal is a deal, so don't try to weasel your way out of it. Now show these four the way to Mammoth Pictures Studios."

"Hi, my name is Danny," the tabby cay said clearly smitten with Sawyer. "So, I guess we are going to be the only two cats on the ark."

"So much for preserving the species," Sawyer deadpanned.

It didn't take long for the five to reach Mammoth Pictures Studios. They were greeted by sights of crewmembers putting up props and directors barking orders at everyone. Cynthia began the see a pattern the further they got in the studio lot. While all of the human actors were well taken care of and treated with respect, all of the animal actors were complaining and being humiliated.

"So…," the keyblader said trying to break the ice, "Sawyer, how long the Heartless been here?"

"For over a month," the female cat sighed. "Even since they came, people started acting weird. Furthermore people and animals are starting to disappear."

"But they find them, right?" Danny asked a little nervous.

"No, no they don't," Sawyer said truthfully.

They finally arrive to the place where the movie was going to be filmed. Everyone was busy setting up props and equipment to notice the five new additions to the movie. Before they can ask everyone what to do, a small penguin bump into them. "You guys better get into costume and quick, they are about to start shooting. I'm Peabo by the way, but you can call me Pudge."

"Well, nice to meet you Pudge," Cynthia bent down and shook the penguin's flipper.

Max, PJ, Danny, and Sawyer went over to wardrobe to get change into costume while Cynthia waited. When they were fully dressed, the keyblader couldn't help but laugh at them. "Bah-ha-ha, you guys look like idiots. Like a couple of four year olds!" Sure enough, the entire animal cast was dressed in sailor suits; blue for boys and pink for girls.

"I'm going to kill the costume designer," Max said gritting his teeth.

"Aw, we don't look that bad," PJ said trying to look on the bright side. "We kinda look like Donald Duck."

"PJ, that's a bad thing," the dog-teen said closing his eyes and slowly counting to ten in his head.

Cynthia stopped laughing long enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "After seeing these costumes, I'm so glad I'm not in the movie."

"Scripts," the producer yelled and handed each animal the script for the movie _Lil' Ark Angel_.

Danny was so excited; he was holding his first movie script! Then all the excitement drained away when he saw that all the script said was: "Cat 1: 'Meow!'" "Meow? Is that all? Surely there must be some more. Where's the rest?"

"You're looking at it," Sawyer simply stated.

"But I thought this was a musical. We are supposed to sing and dance."

"Oh, for the love for Moby Dick," Frances cursed, not believing that the tabby was this naïve.

"Listen tiger, this town has rules and around here cats say 'meow,'" Sawyer said not believing she have to explain this.

"But that's so old hat," not believing what he's seeing. "I'm sure they won't mind if I jazz it up a bit."

"Alright, learn it the hard way."

"Quiet on the set," the director yelled in his megaphone. "Miss Dimple is ready to begin! LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!"

Everyone got into place and the set became silent as a graveyard. The camera began rolling and a little girl with a head filled with golden curls was slowly lowered on the stage singing:

"_Now the people was so bad…_

_That the Lord made the rain come down…_

_And he washed away their bad cities and washed away their bad towns…_

_And all the people drowned."_

Cynthia rolled her eyes as she watched the child actress performed. _'What a ham,'_ she thought. _'Typical for a child actor to overact.'_

Darla Dimple continued to sing:

"_But for the animals it was different…_

_Though some of them drowned too…_

_The others were just poor animals,_

_And they didn't know what to do…_

_So…_

_I built a little boat, as cute as it could be_

_I put all the animals two by two on my little boat on the sea."_

The keyblader shook her head, _'Who in the hell wrote these hokey lyrics? No wonder why people hate musicals.'_

Despite Cynthia's silent protest, Darla continued singing going to each type of animal and asking each one of them what kind of noise they make. The female keyblader tried not to laugh when Darla sung _"And the doggies went…,"_ and Max was force to say 'Bow-wow.'

The song-dance number continued:

"_The kitty-cats goes:"_

Sawyer did a simple 'meow,' but Danny hammed it up by stretching the meow into a perfect D-flat. Darla tried to keep singing, but the tabby kept interrupting her with his improvisations. "CUT! CUT!" the child star yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Cut?" the director said somewhat confused at first. "Oh yes, cut!"

"Flanagan," Darla spoke to the director with her left eye twitching. "The title of this movie is 'Lil Ark Angel,' ISN'T IT?"

Flanagan nervously nodded his head.

"AND WHO IS THE ANGEL? TELL ME WHO!"

"Why you are of course," Flanagan said trying to calm the child star down.

"THAT'S RIGHT, I AM AN ANGEL! I AM AN ADORABLE LITTLE ANGEL!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "I HATE ANIMALS, ESPECIALLY THAT ONE," she point toward Danny. "MAX!"

At first, Max Goof was confused, why would the star call his name? Then a giant gorilla butler came on the set, walking like Frankenstein. King Kong had nothing on this Max, who can easily clear a seven-story building. "Yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeesssssss Miss Dimple?" Max the butler managed to droll out. Darla pointed furiously at Danny. The gorilla cracked his knuckles and pick up the tabby. "Hhhhooowww does the kitty-cat go?" it said in a no nonsense tone.

"Uh… 'Meow?'" Danny said afraid for his life.

"Very good," bellowed the butler. Then he threw Danny to the ground and faced his master. "Will that be all Miss. Dimple?"

"For the moment," the child star spoke happily now that the situation been dealt with. "Thank you Max."

"Okay everyone from the top," Flanagan said like nothing happen. Then he stared daggers at Danny. "And I hope there won't be anymore interruptions."

Later that night, the crew was finished shooting for the day and everyone was preparing to go home. All of the animal actors were making fun of Danny as he, Cynthia, Max, and PJ were about to leave.

"Cynthia, what happened back there?" Danny asked a bit confused. "Why did Darla get mad at me? I was just trying to improve the script."

"Well Danny," the keyblader said trying to think of a way not to hurt the tabby's feelings. "Darla is the star of the film and you're just an extra. You have to start with baby steps, Danny. Right now, all you're doing is making a fool of yourself."

"Cynthia's right Danny," Sawyer said stepping out of the studio. "I'm sorry your feelings got hurt, but the fact is since you cam-"

"What happened in there anyway, did I hit a sour note?" Danny asked trying to make sense of the whole thing. "Cause if I hit a sour note, I can go back in there and I can fixed it."

"Danny, they don't care. Don't you get it? What is it with you, why are you so determined to make a fool of yourself?"

"What do you mean? All I what to do is the thing I love. Doesn't everyone?"

Sawyer looked away, "It's not that simple."

"It is back in my hometown."

"Then maybe that's where you should have stayed." Sawyer walked away from Danny leaving him alone with Cynthia and her friends.

"Is Sawyer right?" Danny asked Cynthia and the others. "Should I just give up?"

"Danny, I-" Cynthia was interrupted by a chill going down her spine and her keyblade appearing in her hand. "Heartless are coming!"

"Heartless? What do they have to do with- Ah!" Danny screamed as black portals appeared on the ground. Several human-shaped Heartless came out of the portals wearing berets and cargo pants.

Max and PJ got their weapons ready as Cynthia leapt into battle. One of the Heartless tried to attack the keyblader with its claws, but Cynthia was able to dodge and destroy it with a counterattack. Cynthia had a knack for battles; she can sense the rhythm of a battle like an expert dancer can follow the beat to a song. This new group of Heartless was child's play for her and her team. The Heartless barely had any special attacks and had low speed and defense. Max was the one who destroyed the last Heartless, ending the battle.

"I can't take this anymore," Danny said suddenly. "I'm going back to my hometown. Besides, with the Heartless running around, this is not a safe town to be in."

"Danny, wait," Cynthia stopped the tabby. "One shouldn't give up on their dream so easily. There are times when you got to fight for it."

"I don't know Cynthia; maybe I'm just not that talented…"

"I think your good," said a small voice. Everyone looked up and saw Pudge waddling toward them. "I mean, what was the Dimple kid's problem? I thought you were great today."

"I glad somebody liked it," Danny huffed. Suddenly, he stood up straight, "Is it just me or do I hear ragtime?"

"No, I hear it too," Cynthia said. "Where is it coming from?"

They followed the sound of the fast-paced piano beat all the way to a broken down trailer. The group looked into the window and saw an old elephant jamming on his worn-down piano.

"Oh my god, it's him!" Danny whispered excitedly.

"Huh, who is he?" PJ whispered back.

"It's Woolie the Mammoth, the mascot of Mammoth Pictures!"

"You do know that I can hear you," the elephant called out. "I don't have these big ears for nothing. You all might as well come in." The crew nervously filed in the trailer completely embarrassed that they were caught snooping. The old elephant put on his glasses and take a hard look at the group. "If my old eyes aren't failing me then you're that fellow that caused all the ruckus today," he pointed toward Danny.

"I guess I really upset Miss Dimple," the tabby said nervously.

"Yes, you did. Jolly good show, ol' boy!" the elephant laughed.

"You mean you're not mad at Danny for showing off," Max scratched his head.

"Mad? For him teaching that brat a lesson? Of course not."

"The music you playing was great," the keyblader praised; she always had a thing for music. "Did you wrote that piece for a movie?"

"No, no," the elephant said. "It's not for any movie…I mean, I used to hope it will one day be, but all the humans want me for is to put on those horrid tusks and trumpet like a wild animal at the beginning of very film."

"But you're talented," Danny pressed on. "What you are doing is a waste."

"Oh, it's the same for everyone. Look behind you." Behind the group was a wall full of black and white pictures of various animal actors; many of them they already met. "So many broken dreams…" Woolie said as he shook his head sadly.

Danny zeroed in on one picture featuring a white female cat dancing. "Woolie, don't tell me, is that Sawyer?"

"I thought she was only a secretary," PJ said.

"Poor Sawyer," Woolie said, "I thought she'd be the one to make it. Such a dancer with a voice of an angel."

"I never would have guess."

"That's want this town does to you; it wears you down."

"But I thought Hollywood was always looking for new talent?" Danny asked.

"No, they are looking for talented _people_, not animals."

"When we first walked in the studio," Cynthia began, "I noticed all the animal actors were getting all of the poor parts. At first I thought it was only my imagination, but I guess it's really true…"

"Humans like you can make it far in this world young lady," the elephant sighed. "But for us animals…well, the spotlight will never shine on us…. And it's foolish to think otherwise Danny."

The tabby lowered his head, but then raised it back up when an idea stuck him. "Unless…we can remind them!"

"Of what?" everybody asked.

"Of why they came here in the first place."

The next morning, Danny had Cynthia, Max, and PJ gather all of the animal actors in an alley between Mammoth Pictures Studios and Mr. Winks Agency. "Okay all you animals," Danny addressed them. "I know that this town has got you down, but now is the time to rekindle that spirit in your heart." He tossed them some makeshift instruments and costumes, hoping the animals would remember why they came here in the first place. It took a while, but slowly and surely the animal actors got in swing of things.

"Looks like everyone is having a good time Danny," Cynthia commented as she watched Max and PJ bang on some trashcans like they were drums.

"You can join in too Cynthia, you're a part of this."

The keyblader thought about this for a moment. "Give me a saxophone and I'll show you how an instrument should be played!"

Sawyer was walking her way to work when she spotted the racket going on in the alley. Danny walked up to her and stretched out his hand. "Hey Sawyer, dance with me? I heard you were a natural."

"You told you that?" she was answered by Woolie trumpeting. "Listen Danny, it's a waste of time, you're never going to get to dance in the movies."

"Movies? Did I say movies? We're just having fun."

"Yeah sure, forget it," she was about to leave when Tillie the hippo bumped her back over toward Danny who lead her to the 'dance floor.' Sawyer gave in and tried a few steps.

"Not bad," Danny yawned, "it's a little rusty…"

"Rusty?" Sawyer said offended. "I will show you rusty." She began to dance with Danny, and two dancers complemented each other with their dance steps.

In her nearby mansion, Darla heard the music coming from the alley and decided to investigate. Hiding in the shadows, she and her butler silently went in the alley and observed them from a far. _'Look at those pathetic losers,'_ she thought. _'Actually believing that they had a chance against me.'_ But, as time when on, even she had to admit that the animals were talented. Not that she was worried; an animal getting a major part in a movie? Unheard of!

Eventually, Sawyer stopped dancing and pushed Danny away. "Like I said, dancing is a waste of time."

"Ah, come on Sawyer. Don't be such a spoilsport," Max Goof said.

"This is not going to change anything. Nothing is going to change."

"Well, how about we go to the guy in charge and change all of that," Cynthia suggested.

"You mean L.B. Mammoth, the head of Mammoth Studios?" Sawyer said in disbelieve. "How are you going to get us an audition with him?"

"Mr. Wink made me Danny's part-time manager and he said that one of my duties is to scout for new talent. So why not? I'm sure he wants new talent."

"After nothing but Darla, he's gotta be starving for it," Cranston jested.

"Both of you are dreaming," Sawyer said walking away.

"Well, maybe I am," the tabby confessed. "But so were you just a moment ago." Sawyer paused for a moment remembering her love of dancing, but then reality swept over her and she silently went inside the office building to work.

Cynthia felt something tugging her leg and looked down to see Pudge. "Do you really think you can really get us an audition with the boss Cynthia?"

"There's no harm in trying," keyblader said.

"Once he sees us, there will be a whole new set of stars in this town," Danny said with joy in his heart.

When Cynthia and all of the animal actors left, Darla and her butler stepped out of the shadows. "That little- _OHHHHH!_" the child star cursed. She paced back and forward damning the world. _'How dare that woman want to give the animals an audition!'_ She cursed Cynthia over again and again; how dare she interfere with the status quo!

"Very troublesome, that human…" Darla turned around and saw Zim. He was wearing his 'human' disguise while his robot Gir was wearing its poorly made dog suit. "I have a proposal to ask you, little human girl."

"Not now," Darla hissed. "Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something here!"

"I could help you get rid of the woman and that _FILTHY_ Earth-cat."

The child star pondered this for a moment, if Cynthia does get an audition for the animals she could be out of work! It was no secret that she only succeed in this business, because she looked like a 'cute' child. But in the end of the day, looks can't buy you anything and if L.B. Mammoth noticed the animals, she will get the boot. "What do you have in mind?"

Zim went over a whispered in her ear; occasionally she went 'ohhh' and giggled in evil glee. When the alien finished explaining, he stepped back and said, "All that I asked for is the female's strange weapon; the _KEYBLADE!_" The alien had an annoying habit of shouting random words in every other sentence. "I need it to reprove my worth to a certain group of people."

"Fine," Darla waved it off. "Do whatever you want to do to the woman, as long as she and that cat get out of my hair!" She turned to her faithful gorilla butler and grinned wickedly. "Max, invite that cat and his know-it-all friends to tea."

About two hours later, Cynthia, Max Goof, PJ, and Danny found themselves in Darla Dimple's mansion. They were seated at a heart-shaped table where Darla and Zim were at the head, and Max the butler and Gir were serving drinks and snacks.

Gir, still in his dog suit, served Max Goof a cup of tea. "Be careful, it's hot like a mot!"

"What in the heck is a mot?" the dog-teen asked.

"I don't know…," the robot said with blank eyes, before running away giggling like a little schoolgirl.

"Thanks for coming over Donald and Cindy," Darla said trying to sound as sweet as possible.

"Exactly it's Danny and Cynthia," corrected the keyblader.

"Oh, sorry. Animal cracker? No? More for me!" she took one of the animal cracker, bit the head off, and tossed it on the table.

"Forgive me for prying," Cynthia said to Zim. "But why is your skin green?"

"Uh, it's a rare skin condition," Zim said thinking quickly.

"You have no ears."

"It's a part of my condition."

Darla decided to take control of the conversation. "I want to apologize for what Max did the other day."

"What did I do?" Max Goof said nervously.

"Oh, your name is Max too. I mean Max, my butler. He's so bad sometimes."

"I guess we have to call Maximilian to avoid confusion," PJ whispered to the dog-teen.

"You promised never to speak of that!" Max whispered back.

"It's all right Miss Dimple," Danny nervously said. "What I did will never happen again."

"No, no, no," Darla refused to expect what Danny said. "It was terrible, awful, cruel, and inappropriately violent. And I want to make it all up to you."

"No, no, you don't to-" Danny started.

"SHUT UP AND LET THE FILTHY PIG-GIRL MAKE IT UP TO YOU, YOU BAGS OF WORTHLESS MEATS!" Zim yelled.

Everybody stared at Zim, scared for a moment. "What was _that_ all about?" Cynthia demanded.

"I have Tourettes!" the alien banged his head on the table and started fake crying; occasionally he would look up to see if anyone was buying it.

Darla gently panted Zim. "You will have to excuse him; he has a lot of issues."

"You don't say," Cynthia said under her breath.

"Anyway, is there anything that me and Zim here can do for you?" Darla asked sweetly.

"No, not really," the keyblader said crossing her arms.

Darla's right eye twitched. "Are you sure there is any studio executive we could introduce to you?"

"Actually, could you introduce me and all the animals to L.B. Mammoth?" the tabby asked.

"Why, Dennis, I'll be delighted. Oh, idea! Maybe you all could do a number in my movie!"

"You mean it?"

"Why, it's just what the picture needs. I will give full use of my sound stage, my ark, and anything else you might need."

"This sounds too good to be true," Cynthia questioned. "What do you guys want in return?"

"All we want is the satisfaction that we help some poor, disgusting creatures achieve their dreams," Zim stated.

"And tacos!" Gir added.

"Really?" Danny asked excited.

"You just get all your friends ready," Darla bit the head off of another animal cracker. "And me and Zim will make sure L.B. sees your splashing debut."

"Thank you Miss-"

"Nah-uh, call me Darla," the child star corrected the tabby.

"Thank you Darla! You don't know how much I appreciate it!"

"One word of advise before all of you go," Darla said. "To be in the Hollywood business, you don't have to be talented or remotely good. All one has to do is to be big and loud. The audience eats it up; it leaves them kinda speechless. And by the way, let's keep this between us shall we. I don't like to advertise my _charitable_ work."

The next day all the animals were in their costumes exciting that they were going to get a shot at stardom. "Remember to do everything that we did in the alley the other day," Danny said. "But is time only do it big and loud!"

Only two people weren't caught up in the excitement; Sawyer and Cynthia. "How did you pull this off Danny?" the white cat looked around the stage. "This is never going to work."

"Let's just say we got a little angel looking after us," the tabby winked.

"A fallen angel maybe…," Cynthia said under her breath. She pulled Danny off to the side so she can speak to him alone. "Danny, I don't trust Darla or that freaky Zim for that matter. This isn't charity work, they are getting something out of it and we are going to be the fall guys."

"Come on, Cynthia," the tabby patted her back. "Where's your belief that there's some good in everyone?"

"It went away when I turned fourteen, like everyone else's," she deadpanned.

"Oh come on, what's the worse that could happen?"

Suddenly something bumped the keyblader's leg; she looked down and saw Gir in his dog suit. "My master wants to see you!" it yelled excitedly.

"I'm in the middle of something here, so- HEY!" Gir lifted Cynthia over his head with superhuman strength and walked out the door with her.

PJ who was witnessed the whole thing was puzzled. "Max, isn't it weird that the freaky dog from the other day kidnapped Cynthia and locked us in the stage room?"

Max Goof was paying his friend no mind. "I can't believe we're going to be in the movies," he said with stars in his eyes.

Gir carrying Cynthia to a nearby alley and dropped her unceremoniously. "So glad you can make it, keyblader," Cynthia looked behind her and saw Zim rubbing his hands together.

"Zim," she cursed and summoned her keyblade. "I knew there was something strange about you."

"Yes, but I bet you weren't expecting THIS!" the alien took off his human costume. "Do you tremble before my majestic form? DO YOU STAND IN AWE BEFORE MY TREMENDOUS PRESENCE?"

"No," the keyblader said flatly. "You look like a bug that I can easily squash. So tell me Zim, do you work for Naraku?"

"Of course not, pathetic human! I only work for myself and the great tall ones of the Irken Empire! Now give me your keyblade so I can prove myself to those wretched Forsaken."

"So you are working for somebody," this might be the clue that Cynthia was looking for. "You are with the Forsaken."

"Well…exactly, they kick me out. The fools said that I was incompetent."

"I can't imagine why," Cynthia sarcastically remarked.

"ENOUGH OF YOUR FOOLISHNESS!" Zim yelled. "It's time to prove my worth!" Four mechanical tentacles popped out of the alien's back and launched themselves toward the keyblader.

"Oh crap," Cynthia cursed as she prepared for battle.

Something wasn't quite right back on stage. Maybe it was because the rain special effects were flooding it, or maybe because the lightning effect was a little too realistic. Either way, the animal actors took refuge in the ark.

"Max, what's going on?" PJ yelled.

"I don't know, but maybe Cynthia was right," the dog-teen trying to calm everyone down. "Maybe this was a setup."

Inside the sound effects control booth, Darla and her butler Max, was controlling everything. "More rain Max," the child star pressed, "MORE RAIN!" The butler pulled the lever and more water came pouring down. Lucky for the animals the ark was buoyant; it bobbed up and down like a boat caught in a storm. "And now for the coup de grâce," Darla said with a wicked grin. "A small touch of darkness." She pulled out a small vial and poured the contents in the water. The pool of darkness stirred in the water becoming bigger and bigger with each passing moment. Finally, it took form and slithered beneath the water.

"Max, look!" PJ called out to his friend. The dog-teen came out to the deck of the ark and saw a pair of dead, yellow eyes staring at them from beneath the water. "What is that?"

"That Peej, is a sign that we are royally screwed."

Cynthia kept dodging Zim's tentacles attacks looking for an opening to strike. "Stop moving around, you worthless human!" the alien yelled at her.

'_If only he would use magic,'_ the keyblader thought as she dodged another attack. _'I can't use magic, but I can rewrite it and use it to my advantage.'_

"Gir, help your master capture this keyblader!" Zim screamed.

"Yes, my master," the robot said with its eyes red. It ditched the dog costume and ran up to Cynthia. Gir pulled back and knocked the keyblader into a nearby wall.

"Ha-ha-ha! Feel the sting of the intellect of the Irken race!" Zim boasted.

Cynthia knocked Gir on its feet with her keyblade, and then quickly dropped kicked Zim knocking him temporarily unconscious. "Feel the sting of my foot up your ass!" she spat. Her thoughts quickly turned to Max and PJ. _'I hope they are all right,'_ she thought as she ran for the studio. She silently prayed to God that Zim wasn't a diversion.

When she reached the studio, L.B. Mammoth, an ironically short old man, was about to open it before the press. "Ladies and gentlemen," the head of the studios began. "I give you the set of our next picture!" He pressed the button to open the stage door and a huge tidal wave came pouring out.

Cynthia found herself underwater being thrashed about. She opened her eyes and saw a huge shadow move beneath her. Before she could guess what it was, a piece of rope appeared in her view and she latched on to it. Seconds later, the keyblader broke the water's surface and was being pulled on board the ark by Max and PJ. "What the hell is going on?" she demanded as the whole studio lot was becoming the world's biggest swimming pool.

"Darla betrayed us!" Max yelled. "And she released a monster Heartless!"

"Well where is it? Where's the Heartless?" Then a giant black sea serpent Heartless breached the water and gave a mighty roar. "Oh, there it is," Cynthia said weakly.

The Heartless smashed its tail on the ark creating a gaping hole. As the ship started to take in water, Cynthia searched for something to plug up the hole, but came up empty. _'Come on, Cynthia, THINK!'_ she thought frantically. _'Used that brain that you were given.'_ "PJ!" she called out. "Cast Float on the entire ark!" The cat-teen summoned every ounce of mana he had in him and cast the spell. Slowly the ark lifted itself out of the water and hover a couple of feet above it. "Well, that takes care of one problem," Cynthia said as she searched the ship making sure everyone as all right.

The Heartless began attacking the hovering ship blow after blow. Then it would recede into the water for a few moments before attacking again.

"Cynthia, what can we do? This ship can't take much more!" Danny yelled.

"I'M THINKING, I'M THINKING!" she called out. Since the Heartless was a sea-faring Heartless she figured, it's probably weak against Thunder attacks. But the problem is, none of them knew any Thunder spells. _'What's a universal weakness,'_ her brain yelled out. _'What's something no one can truly defend against?'_ "The eyes," she concluded. "PJ, went I give the signal cast Slow on the Heartless!" She looked over the railing and saw the Heartless swimming in the depths. "Get ready PJ!" The Heartless stopped for a moment then launched its head out of the water. When it head was over the boat, Cynthia yelled "NOW!" PJ unleashed the spell inflicting the dark creature with Slow. As the Heartless was moving in slow motion, Cynthia turned back and yelled, "Now cast Hastega on me and Max! Max, attack its eyes!" PJ did what he was told and cast the spell. Max and Cynthia ran with superhuman speed and leapt toward the foul creature. Quicker than the eye could see, the two performed a series of barrages that must have dealt an unbelievable amount of heavy damage. The Heartless gave up the ghost and released its heart.

Instead of floating away to Kingdom Hearts, the giant crystal heart stayed and hovered before the keyblader. _"I am Leviathan, guardian of the oceans' depths, sentry of the sea's secrets," _it called out to her. _"Never before I encountered a warrior as powerful and surefooted as you, child."_ Cynthia blushed, but not sure what to make of all of this. _"I shall lend you my power keyblader. Do not disappoint me or I shall return and devour you!"_

"No pressure or anything," Cynthia coughed. The crystal heart burst into thousands of fragments of light and went into Cynthia's body. The waters began to recede and the ark slowly made its descend, before collapsing when it hit the ground. All the animal actors poured out of it weak and weary, looking around at the water damaged studio lot.

"You don't think Mr. Mammoth would notice this?" Danny asked hoping to get support.

"You….," everyone turned around and saw a completely drenched L.B. Mammoth boiling mad. "You animals will never work in this town again!" he yelled before storming off.

Minutes later, security came and tossed everyone out of studio, then locked the gates behind them.

"But it wasn't our fault!" Danny protested, but it fell on deaf ears.

A pink and purple limousine pulled up and a window rolled down. "Nice working with you, Danny," Darla laughed wickedly before the limo drove off. "Singing and dancing animals, who heard of such a thing?"

"She was your little angel?" Sawyer said in disbelief.

"She said she wanted to help us," Danny said.

"And you believed her?"

Woolie the elephant and turned to walk away. "The spotlight will never be on fellows like you and me. Go home son."

That night, Cynthia, PJ, Max, and Danny were at the bus stop caught in the pouring rain.

"Well, this is a fine kettle of fish," the keyblader sarcastically spat hoping to lighten the mood.

Danny, however, didn't laugh. He was waiting for the next bus to his hometown. The tabby felt it would be better if he would leave; not only had he ruined his own dream, but the dreams of countless others.

"It's not too late," Cynthia said. "Perhaps there is a way to fix this."

"How on earth could we fix this?" Danny moped. "Darla won and now no animal can ever be a famous movie star."

"Don't be like that," the keyblader pressed on. "What happened to the overly-optimistic tabby that we all know and love?"

"He died a few hours ago."

"Oh, don't act emo on us now," Cynthia sighed. "We can still beat the system; all we need is some improvisation."

"And some help," everyone turned around and saw Sawyer and Pudge standing there.

"Sawyer, what are you doing here?" Danny said as he got on his feet.

"I came back to say that…well…even though you have a rash way of doing things, you were right. We should pursue our dreams even if others stand in our way. So, why don't we show the world what we are made of?"

"That's what I'm talking about," Danny said getting some of his optimism back. "But how?"

"Well, Darla's movie premiere is only tomorrow night. What do you say if we crash it?"

"That's sounds good," Cynthia admitted, wanting nothing more than to humiliate the child star. "But is this going to be just us? What about all of the other animal actors?"

"You just leave that to me," Sawyer said with a wink.

It was _Lil' Ark Angel_'s premiere night and the biggest human Hollywood stars were there. In the theater's backstage, Danny and the others were getting ready.

"I don't know why we're here," Cranston the goat complained. "We must be masochists or something."

"If any of you are willing to accept what everyone thinks of you then you can just go." Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the tabby. "I almost did."

"Well, you should have," Cranston complained. "Life here for animals is the pits. The humans are always looking for a scapegoat."

"We are quickly forgotten," Woolie added.

"Always working for scale," Frances chimed in.

"Then why are all of you still here?" Danny asked them. Each and every one of them couldn't answer. "Because you can't forget the feeling can you? The feeling you have when you dance, when you play an instrument, or when you sing. They cursed you, humiliated you, even slammed the door in your face, but they still haven't made you forget."

"What a touching speech, given by a _filthy_ earth-cat!" the group turned around and saw Zim, Gir, and even Max the butler was with them.

"Zim!" Cynthia hissed as she, Max Goof, and PJ readied their weapons. "I thought I defeated you!"

"Silly pathetic human, no one defeats the great ZIM!"

"Danny, you and the others go on stage as planned. Me, Max, and PJ will take care of these three." Cynthia yelled as she charged Zim.

Zim dodged the attack, but was surprised when Cynthia kept going. The keyblader began to climb the ladder leading to the rooftop. She looked down and saw Max the butler hot on her tail. When she reached the top, she jumped up and headed toward the door to the rooftop. Outside she looked around for anything she can use to her advantage. Her thought process was interrupted by the butler crashing through the roof and landing a few feet from her. Before Max could grab her, a Comet spell flew in his face.

"The cavalry is here!" PJ as he helped Max Goof up on the roof.

"And always late," Cynthia added. The butler got back up and charged them. The keyblader looked around and saw a float in the shape of Darla. "To the balloon," she yelled as the giant ape was catching up to her. The three of them climbed up on top of the huge float as the butler followed them.

"Great idea Cynthia," the dog-teen spat. "Now we're trapped and hovering a hundred feet in the air."

"Just wait for it," Cynthia said. The ape was almost on top of them as the balloon gently floated back to the theater. "Jump! NOW!" the keyblader ordered, and the three jumped safely on the rooftop. "PJ, use Comet on the balloon!" The cat-teen did as he was told, and before the butler could jump off, the balloon popped and started whizzing through the sky with the ape hanging on your dear life.

"Most impressive," Zim said coming up from behind them. "But can you dodge this?" The alien launched a tentacle and Cynthia blocked and deflecting it with her keyblade. "You three are pathetic!" cursed Zim.

"Maybe so," Cynthia said. "But united, we're unstoppable!" She began to feel a great warmth inside her and realized that she was glowing. She turned and saw that PJ and Max were glowing too. They nodded their heads and all three of them pooled their mana together. "Trinity Limit: _Banishment!_"

A huge, white, glowing vortex appeared behind Zim sucking in everything within its reach. Zim tried to grab hold on to something, but there was nothing to grab; so he grabbed Gir instead. "GIR, SAVE YOUR MASTER!"

"YAHHH! WE'RE GOING BYE-BYE!," the robot rejoiced.

As Zim was being sucked in the vortex, he gave a final warning. "You haven't heard the last Zim! I will find a way to bring back the Earth and then I will conquer it! Then I will conquer the universe! You keybladers will get yours, just you wait! So says ZIM!" Then the robot and the alien disappeared in the vortex, and the portal closed behind them.

"What a blowhard," Max huffed with his arms crossed.

"Come on," Cynthia said. "Let's see how Danny and the others are doing."

When they got back to the backstage, the animals were already finished with their performance and received a huge applause. Darla, however, was not pleased. This is her night and how dare these animals steal her well-deserved stoplight! In blind hatred and malice, she walked on the stage, grabbed Danny, and pulled him down. "Stupid, stupid cat! I should have drowned you all when I flooded the stage!" It was only then when she realized what she had done. She confessed to her crime in front of everyone, including L.B. Mammoth himself.

"Yo, Darla," Cynthia called from the sidelines. The child star looked over the keyblader's direction and saw Cynthia leaning against a lever. The keyblader pulled it and a trapdoor opened beneath Darla causing her to fall out of sight.

The spotlight shown on all the animals and the audience cheered again; never before they seen such talent. "You kids are going far," L.B. Mammoth said as he got on stage. "You guys will be the first animal movie superstars!"

"Well Danny," Sawyer blushed a little. "It looks like you got the girl at the end." The tabby took Sawyer's hands into his and kissed her, getting more cheers from the crowd.

Then the stage started to glow and the keyhole of the world appeared; hovering over the stage and a giant shimmering jewel. "I guess that's my cue," Cynthia said as she walked on stage. She raised her keyblade and a beam of light shot from it and went straight into the keyhole, locking the world.

"Can we go now?" Max complained. "The Hollywood lifestyle is too fast for me."

"Everybody, WAIT!" the voice belong to a young boy wearing dark clothes who went up on stage and turn toward the audience. "Has anyone seen a green alien? It's kind of important!"

"Do you mean Zim?" Cynthia asked not believing what she is seeing.

"Yes," cried the boy. "Where is he? Where's Zim?"

"I banished him from this world a little while ago. Why? And who are you for that matter?"

"My name is Dib, my home world was destroyed by the Heartless, but, unfortunately, they didn't get Zim. Now I'm forced to travel the worlds to make sure that Zim don't cause any mischief. And it looks like my journey continues. I will bring Zim to justice. I will show you, I WILL SHOW YOU ALL!" Dib then jumped off the stage and heading toward the door.

"What a strange, big-headed boy," Cynthia commented. The female keyblader couldn't help but wonder what else is in store for her.

**Next Chapter: Blood and Ducks**

**Kairi's Diary Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Hercules: Hercules(1997)

Meg: Hercules(1997)

Pegasus: Hercules(1997)

Hades: Hercules(1997)

Zeus: Hercules(1997)

Hera: Hercules(1997)

Phil: Hercules(1997)

The Three Fates: Hercules(1997)

Pain: Hercules(1997)

Panic: Hercules(1997)

Ryoko: Tenchi Muyo OVA(1992)

**PJ's Blog Updated!**

Danny: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Sawyer: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Pudge: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Cranston: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Frances: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

T.W. Turtle: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Tillie: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Woolie: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Mr. Wink: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Flanagan: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

L.B. Mammoth: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Darla Dimple: Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Max (Darla's Butler): Cats Don't Dance(1997)

Zim: Invader Zim(2001)

Gir: Invader Zim(2001)

Dib: Invader Zim(2001)


	16. Blood and Ducks

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 15: Blood and Ducks**

Trevor tossed and turned in his bed as he dreamt that he was being swallowed up by the darkness. He tried to fight it off, but the harder he fought, the more powerful the darkness become. Just as he felt the void about to consume him, the ship's alarm woke him from his dreams. The alarm was extremely high-pitch, continuous, and very annoying. The keyblader got out of his bed wearing nothing but a t-shirt and boxers and ran down the ship's corridor. The hallway was filled with blinking red lights and the closer he got to the ship's cabin, the louder the siren became.

"What's going on?" Trevor turned and saw Miranda wearing a pink robe running along side him. "Are we under attack?" she tried to yell over the siren.

"I don't know!" Trevor said covering his ears and yelled back. "I just want that thing turned off!"

"What's happenin'?" Bonkers yawned wearing footie pajamas. "Where's the fire?"

The keyblader didn't bother to answer the bobcat. When the cabin doors opened a tidal wave of sound flooded their ears. Every one of them pressed their hands against their ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. "EDDIE!" Trevor yelled. "SHUT THE DAMN ALARM OFF!"

"Righty-o!" the computer chirped. Eddie shut the alarm off, but the three travelers still heard a ringing sound in their ears. They shook it off and looked around the cabin to see where the danger was coming from.

"Eddie, what's the threat?" Miranda said as she typed away on the ship's counsel. "Are we under attack?"

"Even better! We arrived to a new world!" the AI squealed with unearthly delight.

The three were dumbfounded; a new world was the emergency? "Eddie…," Trevor began, mentally counting to ten. "You woke us up from our sleep to tell us we arrived to a new world?"

"Yes," the computer bleeped innocently. "Is that a problem?"

"Heck yeah, that's a problem!" Miranda yelled, rubbing her temples. "It's one o-clock in the morning! Can't this wait till six or seven?"

"But there's Heartless activity on this world," Eddie defended itself. "A horde of them."

"Later," Trevor grumbled as he turned to leave. "I'm going back to sleep."

"But Negaduck is on this world!"

This piece of information stopped Trevor cold. He remembered that King Mickey once said that Negaduck worked for Naraku. The keyblader spun on his heel and face the cabin's giant computer screen. "And how do you know that?"

"Well, remember the conference call a while back when the King mentioned Negaduck? Well, I stored that name in my databanks just in case. A few minutes ago, we arrived at this world." A picture of the world appeared on the screen. Towering skyscrapers covered the world like a blanket. The said city appeared to be by a bay with a bridge going across it. "This world is called St. Canard," Eddie continued. "As I was searching for information on this world, the name Negaduck appeared." Now the screen showed a mugshot of the criminal duck. "Apparently he's one of this world's top super-villains. According to the police reports of this world, he hailed from a parallel dimension called the Negaverse, but for some reason chose this dimension to live in."

Trevor slowly sat down in his captain's chair, absorbing all of the information. "If Negaduck is truly on this world then we will be closer in solving the mystery to what ever the hell is going on in the universe."

"Do you think we should go down there now?" Miranda questioned as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"We might as well," Trevor said getting up, "We are already up and awake. But we do need to change our clothes; we do not want to wander around in our sleepwear."

**KH-KH-KH**

After a quick change of clothes later, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers found themselves wandering around the dark streets of St. Canard. The city reminded Trevor of skid row back on his world. Every so often, they would come across homeless people pushing shopping carts and see people sleeping in tents on the sidewalk. Trevor noticed that most of the world's population were anthropomorphic ducks and said a silent pray of thanks that he and Miranda weren't transformed into any kind of waterfowl. Occasionally, they will encounter a citizen of the world who would try to avoid the three of them at all cost. The citizen either crossed the street as soon as they saw them, immediately go inside the nearest building and wait for them to pass by, or simply turn around and start running and screaming like their lives depended on it.

"Real friendly," the keyblader huffed as another world inhabitant ran from them.

"This doesn't seem like the safest of neighborhoods," Miranda reasoned. "And with the Heartless running around, I imagine everyone is on edge. We can't blame them for being a little suspicious of strangers."

_The people of this world are terrified of something_, Trevor turned around and saw the translucent image of the blonde young woman he keeps seeing in his visions. He was about to open his mouth to said something, but he knew that Miranda and Bonkers thought he was a little crazy for seeing these visions and he did not want them to worry. _The Heartless are a curse_, she continued. _A curse that keybladers like you are forced to lift. But you can't help anyone if you cannot conquer the darkness inside your soul._ The blonde woman then proceeded to walk into a dark alley where hardly any light shone.

"Hey, WAIT!" Trevor called out. He no longer cared about looking like a crazy person; he just want to find out some answers! He ran into the alley and saw no traces of the woman; it was as if she vanished into thin air.

"Trevor, wait up!" Bonkers called out as he and Miranda was trying to keep up with the keyblader.

"Trevor, what's the matter? Did you see something?" Miranda asked as she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"I thought I did," the keyblader said a bit perplexed. He was beginning to tire of seamlessly random stuff happening to him and not getting any answers. He then felt a sudden chill go down his spine and his keyblade appeared in his hand. A couple of duck-shape Heartless with razor-sharp metal claws emerged from the darkness. "I think we found the Heartless," Trevor said as he readied he keyblade.

All of the Heartless jumped up and performed a downward slashing attack on our heroes. Miranda was fortunate enough to block the attack with her sword, but Trevor and Bonkers received heavy damaged from the attack. Bonkers, thinking quickly, cast Curaga on the entire party and then fired off a couple of rounds of Fira at the Heartless. The Heartless dodged the spells with the greatest of ease and launched dark fireballs of their own. Trevor evaded the spells and performed an onslaught of combos on two of the Heartless. Miranda came up from behind the keyblader, jumped up, and executed a devastating downward sword attack destroying the two creatures up darkness. The remaining Heartless only regrouped and summon more Heartless behind them.

The three were now trapped in the alley with nowhere to escape. As the creatures were closing in on them, a cloud of blue gas appeared. "I'm the terror that flaps in the night!" a voice in the cloud said. "I am the special news bulletin that interrupts your favorite show. I AM DARKWING DUCK!" A flamboyantly dressed duck wearing a mask and dressed in different shades of purple emerge from the smoke. The oddly dressed duck then pulled out a gas gun and point it toward the Heartless. "Suck gas evildoers!" The duck fired several rounds of gas pellets and each shot connected, destroying each Heartless. Once the Heartless were destroyed, Darkwing then turned and pointed his gun at the three travelers. "Alright, stick 'em up, Heartless summoners."

"Summoners?" Trevor yelled. "If anything _we _should be telling you to 'stick 'em up' Negaduck!"

"Negaduck?" Darkwing said a bit confused. "I'm not Negaduck!"

Suddenly, the three travelers felt two huge arms embrace them and force them into a bear arm lock. "I got them DW," said a huge muscular duck wearing old-fashion pilot clothes. "What do you want me to do with them?"

"Put them down Launchpad; this might be a case of mistaken identity. But keep a close eye on them."

Launchpad let go of the three and dropped them unceremoniously. "Oops, sorry," the muscular duck sheepishly apologized.

"So, if you're not Negaduck," Trevor said rubbing his sore body. "Then why are dressed like him?"

"You mean why is he dressed like me," Darkwing fumed. "It's hard enough being a crime fighter in this city as it is without people mistaken you for some super-villain."

"You're a superhero?" Bonkers said with wide eyes.

The crime fighter loved that question and inflated his ego. "Well, I am super when it comes to stopping crimes."

"Aww, DW here doesn't have any superpowers," Launchpad explained. "But he's the greatest detective and crime fighter this city ever known."

"Speaking of crimes, if you guys didn't summon the Heartless then why they appeared around you?" Darkwing interrogated the three.

"In case if you hadn't noticed," Miranda said with her hands on her hips. "They were attacking _us_."

"Oh yeah…," the crime fighter said sheepishly.

"And furthermore, from what it looks and sounds like you are a vigilante. That's against the law if you haven't noticed."

"I was forced to dawn the cape when it was clear that law enforcers couldn't handle some of the criminal scum around these parts," Darkwing explained himself. "So don't think of it as vigilante-ism, but a humble citizen doing a public service."

"Yeah…sure," the blonde cop said rolling her eyes.

"Darkwing," Trevor began. "We believe that Negaduck is responsible for the outbreak of Heartless in this wor- I mean city. It's very important that we find him so we can stop the Heartless from harming anyone."

"Fellow crime fighters, yea? Well then, there is only one way to find Negaduck. To the secret lair!" Darkwing Duck cried out.

They arrive at Darkwing's secret hideout a few moments later, which is located above the Audubon Bay Bridge. It was around three o'clock in the morning so Darkwing had to turn on the lights of his hideout revealing tons of crime fighting equipment, gadgets, and computers. "Well, what do you think?" Darkwing boasted. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

"So how are we going to find Negaduck?" Trevor said bluntly. "It's really important that we find him."

"Alright, alright, keep your shirt on," the masked duck went over to a computer console and started typing. "Negaduck has been quiet lately. Almost too quiet. All I need to do is look into the police database and cross-reference Negaduck recent crimes with all of his usual hideouts and we'll be sure to find him!"

"How about watching the news?" Bonkers said pointing to a TV where they are showing a bank robbery in process.

"Or we could do that," Darkwing sighed. "But what makes you think that Negaduck is the one robbing that bank?"

"…We take you live on the scene of the Fourth National Bank being robbed now even as we speak. What we currently know is that the perpetrator is a masked mallard with a cape," the newscaster said as he was standing outside the bank.

"Okay, so maybe it is Negaduck," Darkwing crossed his arms and huffed.

Then something strange happen on TV, Darkwing Duck, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers was shown leaving to bank with bags full of money. "Oh my stars," the reporter gasped. "Darkwing Duck went rogue. He's now a criminal!"

The Darkwing Duck on the TV grabbed the reporter's microphone and chuckled. "Greetings St. Canard," the impostor spoke in a gruff voice. "For this day forth, I, Darkwing Duck, am now a criminal to be mess with. Try to stop me if you can." The broadcast was then interrupted by a cat food commercial as everyone in Darkwing's lair stood there dumbfounded.

"We're not on this world for six hours and already we are framed for a crime we didn't commit," Trevor said flabbergasted.

"That's got to be Negaduck!" Darkwing took off his hat and started wringing it in his hands. "He's the only one who can pull this off! Oh I will get him, just you wait!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Outside an electronics store, two figures were watching a television screen display in the window. The news report about the bank robbery went off and taller figure looked down on the smaller female one. "He looks like the one who brought darkness to our world," the tall figure said in a solemn monotone.

The smaller figure gripped her sword tightly and stared fixated at the screen. "There's no doubt about it. I can sense him in this world. I can also sense someone who is like me."

"You mean there's a-"

"Yes," she interrupted as she started walking down the street. The taller man followed her like a loyal dog. "We shall have our revenge on the duck, and after that, we'll see if we can stop my sister before it's too late."

**KH-KH-KH**

The group of heroes wandered the streets of St. Canard in search of Negaduck. They were careful not to be seen in fear of being falsely arrested. Thankfully for them, a blanket of fog rolled in in the early morning. They roamed the empty streets of the city keeping an eye out.

"You still haven't told us why you and Negaduck dressed the same," Miranda questioned Darkwing.

"It's a long story," the crime fighter said as if he was going to tell a long, epic story. "It all started when-"

"Do you feel that?" Trevor interrupted and summoned his keyblade.

"Feel what? I don't feel anything," Launchpad said scratching his head.

"Trevor, what is it?" Miranda said as she took out her katana.

The keyblader knew this feeling, he felt it one too many times in life. Something was coming and it not anything good. "Bleak," he hissed.

As soon as that word left his lips, a girl wearing a high school sailor fuku uniform leapt out of the shadows and attacked them with a sword. Trevor tried to block the attacks, but the girl Bleak was too fast. Bonkers cast Thunder and the Bleak jumped back to dodged the spell. The keyblader got a good look at the Bleak, she looked to be a senior in high school, but Trevor knew to never underestimate any creature from the darkness. The keyblader turned and saw a man wearing a suit swinging a giant cello case at him. _'Another Bleak?'_ he thought as he dodged another attack from the man. He took another look and saw that the man was human. _'But that doesn't make any sense. A Bleak and a human working together?'_

"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!" the Bleak charged at Darkwing.

"Miss, I don't even know you," the masked mallard put up his hands in defense. The Bleak continued to charge and Darkwing was forced to use his gun. "I hate to fight a girl, but you left me no choice," he fired a gun pellet and the Bleak dodged it like was nothing. She was about to bring her sword crashing down on the poor mallard when the building behind them exploded.

"Be sure to grab those diamonds," the fake Darkwing hissed as he and the other doppelgangers fled the crime scene. The doubles stop when they spotted the originals only a few feet in front of them. "Hey Dorkwing, glad you can make it to the party!"

"Negaduck," Darkwing hissed. "It's bad enough that we dress similarly, but now you are trying to steal my identity too?"

"Only to frame you and your keyblader pal too," Negaduck laughed.

"Two of them?" the Bleak said in confusion.

That's when Negaduck saw the Bleak. "Saya, glad to see you again. You're looking pale these days; you should take care of yourself better."

"YOU DESTROYED MY WORLD!" Saya cried out. She pointed her sword to the evil duck. "And you unleashed Diva into the universe."

"Can't you let the past go?" Negaduck waved Saya's anger off. Then a swarm of police cars came and surrounded the area. "The cops got here fast," Negaduck clicked his tongue.

"Two Darkwings?" the police said as they got out of their squad cars and pointed their guns at everyone. "Drop everything and put your hands up!"

"Well this is going nowhere fast," Negaduck rolled his eyes. "Doubles, each of you take a hostage." Faster than a blink of the eye, Trevor's Miranda's, and Bonkers' doppelgangers grabbed three cops and carried them back to the dark duck. "Now no one follow us or it's curtains for the coppers," Negaduck hissed. "And because I don't want all of you to be bored," the duck outstretched his hand and formed a dark portal. Out of the portal, a giant plant Heartless with numerous vines crawled out. Its head was in the shape of a blooming blue rose and it walked like a crab using its roots as legs. Once fully emerged, it destroyed a row of squad cars with one sweep of its vines.

"Negaduck is getting away," Darkwing hissed and clenched his fist.

"Uh DW, I think we have bigger problems," Launchpad said as he pointed at the Heartless.

Saya walked up to Trevor's side, "Sorry, about earlier. We thought you work with Negaduck."

"No time for apologies," Trevor said as he readied his keyblade. "In case you haven't noticed, a Heartless is attacking us."

"Do worry about time; Hagi and I will take care of this. Hagi!"

The man with the cello case ran to Saya's side. "Yes Saya," he said in a formal tone.

"Let's take care of this thing. Compare to Chiropterans, Heartless are easy." With that, they charged the creature and unleashed a series of attacks that managed to cut off a couple of vines.

The Heartless wasn't going to give up without a fight. It launched a vine at Hagi knocking him into a building a block away. The creature then grabbed Saya and flung in the air. As the Bleak plummeted down to earth, Trevor jumped up and caught her.

"Are you okay?" he asked Saya.

"Nothing I haven't experienced before," Saya said getting back on her feet.

Darkwing Duck and Bonkers were putting up a fight against the creature. The bobcat unleashed a barrage of Firaga spells burning up the entire left side of the Heartless. Darkwing used his gas gun to damage to other side of the creature. Miranda was busy dodging and cutting off the pesky vines, but every vine she cut a new one grew in its place.

"We cannot defeat it using traditional methods," Saya said. She turned to the keyblader, "Shall we give it a go?"

"Yeah, lets," Trevor said with a smile.

The two rushed the Heartless, their weapons high and readied. Saya jumped up and performed a vertical slash on creature while Trevor did a horizontal slash. The beast tried to grab them with its tentacles, but they jumped out of the way. They both jumped high in the air and brought their swords crashing down on the head of the creature. Despite dealing heavy damage, the Heartless kept going like wounded animal.

"What does it take to kill this thing," Trevor breathed heavily.

"The bobcat's fire spells works, but are ineffective in the long run," Saya commented. "The creature regenerates too fast."

An idea struck the keyblader, "Then we have to set fire to its whole body at one time. Bonkers, fire a Firaga spell on my signal! Darkwing, shoot at the Heartless' head!" The masked mallard obeyed and took careful aim at the Heartless. When his shot was lined up, Darkwing fired off a gas pellet. "Bonkers, fired at the gas pellet!" Trevor ordered. Both the keyblader and the bobcat cast a Firaga spell. Both spells hit the pellet when it was mere inches from the foul creature's mouth. The pellet explodes as if it was stuffed with C-4. The Heartless withered as its body was consumed with red-hot flames. Finally, the dark beast gave up the ghost and released its giant crystal heart.

"Well, that takes care of one problem," Trevor said placing his keyblade on his shoulder.

"Saya," Hagi came running up. "Are you okay?" he said with real concern.

"I'm fine Hagi," the Bleak said dusting herself off.

"FREEZE!" the cops yelled as pointed their guns at the heroes.

"Feeling brave now the Heartless is gone, huh?" the keyblader sighed.

"Me and Hagi will take care of the cops," Saya said as she and her cohort approached the police officers. "All of you go and find Negaduck."

"How can we trust you?" Miranda asked. "You're a Bleak."

Saya lowered her head a little bit. "You right; I'm just a Bleak and if I was in your shoes I wouldn't trust me either. However, we are wasting valuable time."

"You think we can trust her," Miranda asked the keyblader.

"We will have to for now," Trevor said looking for an exit. "Anyone have any bright ideas on how to escape?"

"In matter of fact, I do," Darkwing Duck said as he took out a smoke bomb and dropped it. In seconds, the area was covered in blue smoke, and when it dissipated Darkwing, Launchpad, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers were gone.

"Come on Hagi," Saya said as she turned to the officers. "When have to buy them some time. And remember, do not kill them."

Hagi nodded and together they charged the police who were now firing their bullets.

**KH-KH-KH**

"Keen gear!" a girl duckling with red ponytails said as she admired Miranda's katana. "Hey dad, can I have a cool samurai sword for my birthday?"

"Absolutely not, young lady," Darkwing Duck said as his mild-manner alter ego Drake Mallard. They were now in the Darkwing's house in the suburbs miles away from the corruption of the city. Joining them were Drake's adopted daughter Gosalyn and her brainiac friend Honker. All of them expect for the children, had a strong cup of coffee in their hands. It was now seven in the morning and they still haven't figure out how to track down Negaduck.

"Why would Negaduck impersonate us?" Drake said pacing back and forward in his living room. "What's his plan?"

"To frame us," Bonkers said simply.

"That point seems kinda obvious DW," Launchpad nodded.

"I know that," Drake yelled angrily, "But why?" The duck scratched the bottom of his beak. "Say…why are you three looking for Negaduck in the first place?" Drake asked the three travelers.

Trevor knew he couldn't give the real answer, so he told a partial truth. "Let's just say we are from a special group of people interested in seeing Negaduck brought to justice."

"Speaking of which, you haven't told us why you and Negaduck look and dress the same," Miranda said changing the subject.

"Please, tell us," everyone looked up and saw Saya and Hagi coming into the living room. From the looks of their slightly torn clothes, they had one hell of a night.

"Don't you people knocked," Drake hissed. "How did you find this house anyway?"

"I sense Trevor's heart and soul," the Bleak stated simply. "The heart of a keyblader is a strong one and can be felt from miles away."

"Memo to myself, learn how to conceal the power of my heart," Trevor said casting a wary eye at the two.

"So what's the connection between you and Negaduck?" Bonkers asked Drake impatiently.

"Oh that…," Drake said as he stirred the coffee around with his spoon. "To make a long story short, he's an evil version of me from another dimension."

"WHAT?" the three travelers said in complete shock.

"Some time ago after a certain incident, I was transported into an alternate reality called the Negaverse. In this universe, everyone who was good was evil and everyone who was evil was good. I escape, but somehow Negaduck, a.k.a. me from the Negaverse, was able to come into this universe."

"So, what's your story?" Trevor asked Saya. "Why are you hunting Negaduck?"

"Negaduck destroyed everything that was dear to me. You don't know what evil he brought to my world, nor the evil he unleashed upon the universe."

"Tell us about it," Miranda said folding her arms. "Maybe we will understand it."

The Bleak shifted her weight and stared out the window. "A few months ago, Negaduck came to my world in hopes of recruiting a dangerous woman named Diva in a secret organization. He taught her and her chevaliers how to control the Heartless. Soon they use the Heartless to destroy our world and use the knowledge given to them by Negaduck to wander the universe. Meanwhile, I was cast into the darkness and slowly I became this _thing_ you see before you. I don't think I can transform back to what I once was. And Hagi is now the only true family I got left."

"That's so sad," Gosalyn said sympathetically. "Honker, is there anything you can do for her? Can you change her back?"

"Sorry Gosalyn," the short duckling said adjusting his glasses. "But metaphysics are out of my league. We are talking about stuff that shouldn't even exist."

Trevor sighed and stared at the cup in his hand. "All of this back-story is nice, but it doesn't help us with our problem."

"Well, there's only one thing we can do now," Drake said as he put his cup of coffee down. "We'll wait."

**KH-KH-KH**

In an abandon tuna packing plant, Negaduck rubbed his hands greedily as he looked at all of the loot he had stolen. He ditched his fake Darkwing costume and wore his traditional yellow and black one. The duck turned around and saw the Heartless doppelgangers of the keyblader and his friends. They have the same skills, abilities, and appearance of the originals, except the Heartless doubles have bright yellow eyes and always sport a goofy grin on their face. Right now, the Heartless had their tongues hanging out with a hungry look in their eyes; that's never a good sign. Negaduck looked around and saw the cop hostages, tied, gagged, and blindfolded. "Eat the cops' hearts," he ordered the Heartless. "I have no use for hostages anymore."

Negaduck watched in twisted glee as the Heartless jumped on its prey and started feasting. "You were always a sociopath and a sadist, Negaduck," said a cold and dark voice from behind him. The duck turned around and saw Naraku with Light Yagami.

"Naraku…," Negaduck hissed. "Why are you and the prick here?"

Light narrowed his eyes, he longed for the day he could write the name of the duck in his Death Note. "You are deviating from the plan, Negaduck."

"Deviating? I'm taking care of business! Correct me if I'm wrong, but we only need three keybladers for our plan to success. It was _your_ job to kill off the extra keybladers that we don't need!"

"I ordered Light not to kill the other keybladers," Naraku said with malice in his voice.

"And why?" Negaduck yelled. "Why would you ordered something so stupid? You know how dangerous those keybladers are!"

"For once, I would have to agree with Negaduck," Light said. "Why did you give me that order?"

"Because the conditions of this game have changed," the demon said. "Thanks to Yzma, the keybladers know about your existence Light. So if anyone of them dies unexpectedly, they would know that we were behind it."

"They don't have to die of a heart attack," Light said. "I can make it look like they died from an accident or a heartless attack."

"True, but it would be safe if we don't kill them till they open Kingdom Hearts. So until then, don't use the Death Note."

"For a demon, you have gone soft, Naraku," Negaduck hissed. "Look at my Heartless, they're perfect and with them I will destroy the keyblader, his friends, and Darkwing Duck!"

At first, the demon did not do anything. Then he opened a corridor of darkness behind him and turned around. "Do as you wish, Negaduck. Light, come." Light obeyed and entered the darkness with Naraku. When they were completely enveloped by the darkness and out of Negaduck's hearing range, the demon turned to Light and said, "Write his name in that notebook of yours. And make sure his death is…creative."

Light couldn't help but grin like a fox as he took out his Death Note.

**KH-KH-KH**

Later that night, Negaduck and his team of Heartless were robbing another bank around ten o'clock. "Make sure you grab those gold bars!" he ordered the Bonkers Heartless. "Let's leave no stone unturned."

"I am the terror that flaps in the night!"

"Oh boy, here we go," Negaduck sighed as he turned around.

A pillar of blue smoke appeared and slowly dissipated. "I am the termite that devours your floorboards. I am Darkwing Duck!"

"And friends," Trevor said as his and the others appeared out of the smoke along with Darkwing.

"Dorkwing Duck and his motley crew of losers," Negaduck said with distain. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Suck gas, evildoer," Darkwing said as he pointed his gas gun.

"I don't think so, Heartless attack!" On Negaduck's command, the Heartless leapt into action. Each Heartless attacked the original they were based on leaving Negaduck to attack Darkwing.

Trevor was amazed by the fighting ability of his double. Like him, it was fast, accurate, and always looking for an opening. His Heartless double swung its fake keyblade at him, but he managed to dodge out of the way. _'If this thing has all of my strengths,'_ the keyblader thought, _'then it must have all of my weaknesses too.'_ When the Heartless attacked him, he blocked and gave a devastating counterattack knocking the wind out of the creature. _'I may be fast and have an arsenal of techniques, but I suck at defense and have low stamina. The only way to beat this thing is with strong, repeating attacks!'_ Trevor charged at the Heartless, dishing out a barrage of slashes. The relentless attacks were draining his strength, but his strategy was working. He performed one final slash and the Heartless gave up its heart. He looked around and saw that Miranda and Bonkers had the same idea. Seconds after he defeated his Heartless, they defeated theirs.

Darkwing and Negaduck were still going at it. Trying to blast each other with gas guns, using martial arts techniques, and at one point Negaduck pulled out a chainsaw and tried to cut Darkwing. When Darkwing kicked the chainsaw out of Negaduck's hand, he performed a follow up kick knocking his double on the ground. "Saya, Hagi, NOW!" the masked mallard ordered.

Saya and Hagi were in hiding, but now the signal was given they leapt from the shadows ready to attack Negaduck with full force. Negaduck rolled out of the way and performed a kick-up.

"Give up Negaduck," Trevor said. "You are outnumbered. Now tell us what Naraku's plan is."

The evil duck chuckled darkly. "What makes you think I will tell you anything? I may be outnumbered, but there are ways to deal with the likes of you!" Negaduck laughed maniacally as black smoke appeared and began to engulf him. Out of the dark smoke, Negaduck was reborn as a Heartless. He looked the same, with the exception that he was bigger, had glowing red eyes, his costume was slightly torn, and the Heartless insignia was on his black cape. "I am the most fiendish terror that flaps in the darkness night," the Heartless duck began. "I am the skunk that pollutes your air. I am NEGADUCK!"

The Heartless clapped his hands together so fast that it released a shock wave powerful enough to knock everyone on their feet. "Great, just great. He became even more powerful," Trevor said as he got up.

"I'll take care of this," Hagi said as he charged the Heartless. He tried to smash his cello case on Negaduck's head, but the Heartless caught it.

"Hold him right there Hagi!" Saya yelled as she ran up to the Heartless. Just as she was about to attack, Negaduck jumped out of the way and fired a Dark Fira spell at her.

"Take this, Blizzaga!" Trevor yelled. The spell connected, but it was ineffective.

The Heartless took out a gas gun and fired off several rounds of dark energy at the group. Everyone dodged the attack, but most of the bank was destroyed because of the attacks.

"Trevor, I have a plan, but we need to work together," Saya yelled.

The keyblader still didn't trust the Bleak completely; but what choice did he have? "Alright," he said.

"Darkwing, distract him!" Saya ordered.

"Why must I do it?" Darkwing said as he cowered behind a table.

"GO!"

Darkwing sighed, and then gathered up enough courage to do something stupid. He leapt from behind the table and yelled at the Heartless. "HEY NEGADUCK, YOUR MOM WEARS COMBAT BOOTS!"

The Heartless turned around and shrieked with rage. "Now Trevor!" Saya yelled. She and the keyblader charged the Heartless attacking it with all of their strength. The Bleak jumped up and landed on Trevor's keyblade. Trevor then launched Saya high into the air, where she cut her hand on her blade purposely and allow her blood to flow all over her sword. She then brought the sword crashing down on Negaduck's head splitting him into two. The Heartless body slowly disappears and Negaduck's heart was released.

**KH-KH-KH**

Light and Ryuk watched the battle from the shadows. The young man smiled as he watched Negaduck's existence being erased from this earth. "Quite impressive Light," Ryuk said as he watched Negaduck's heart float away to the realm of Kingdom Hearts.

The young man pulled out his Death Note and read what he written down. "At 10:01 pm, Negaduck and his gang of Heartless break into a bank and start to rob it. Ten minutes later, Trevor, his friends, and Darkwing Duck arrived to stop him and a battle ensues. At 10:15, the Heartless doubles are destroyed and the group begins to gang up on Negaduck. Sensing no way out, Negaduck surrendered his heart to the darkness becoming a Heartless. Finally, at 10:22 Trevor and the female Bleak defeats the Heartless, releasing Negaduck's heart and thus kills Negaduck." Light closed the notebook and smiled. "Goddamn, I love the Death Note," he said before he left the world.

**KH-KH-KH**

"So…," Darkwing said after a few moments. "Negaduck is dead? Like, gone forever?"

"In a sense, yes," Trevor said resting his keyblade on his shoulder.

"Well, I guess I need a new archenemy. I wonder if Megavolt could fill Negaduck's shoes; not that he wore any shoes…" Darkwing gas gun started to glow, which shocked the masked mallard so much that he dropped it. The gun then levitated in the air and morphed into a keyhole.

"I know what that means," Trevor said as he leveled his keyblade. With a beam of light, he locked the world and the gas gun transformed back to normal.

Before anyone could say anything, Saya fainted. "SAYA!" Hagi yelled as he rushed over to the Bleak's side.

"Saya, you're fading away," Trevor said in confusion as he watched the Bleak slowly turning into grey smoke.

"I knew this would happen," Saya said weakly. "Unlike other Bleaks, I never feasted upon anyone's heart or soul. A Bleak needs to feed on the innocent so they can stay in the land of the living. But I refuse to harm any innocent,… so I guess I have to pass on to the next life…"

"Saya, stay strong," Hagi pleaded, but it was no use.

"Trevor," Saya continued. "I'm glad to have met you. Even though you have a Bleak for a soul you somehow retain your purity."

Trevor's, Miranda's, and Bonkers' eyes widen. If they heard correctly, Saya said that the keyblader was part Bleak. In truth, Trevor somewhat suspected this, but hoped that it wasn't true.

"Farewell, Hagi. Take care of Diva for me," and with that, the Bleak known as Saya breathed her last and vanished into grey smoke.

Hagi mournfully got up and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Trevor asked the cello player.

The tall man stopped, "I don't know… But even though I seen it with my own eyes, my heart cannot accept Saya's death. My heart tells me that she somewhere out there, and I plan on finding her."

"Why are you so loyal to her?" Miranda asked. "Even when she transformed into a Bleak?"

Hagi turned to face the blonde cop. "Because I'm her chevalier," after he said that he left the bank and walk into the dark night.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the Heart of Gold, everyone was in their sleeping quarters going over past events. Trevor was sitting on his bed wondering what on earth he is going to do. It's bad enough that he's an amnesiac, but now he found out that he was part Bleak. It would explain the times he loss control of body to some dark entity. Nevertheless, the question is, how did he get this way? He has so many questions in his head, and he didn't know where to start looking for answers. The keyblader knew he had to set up a game plan; what are his main objectives? He knew he began this journey in order to find his friend Vincent. However when he found him, Vincent was working for the Forsaken; for his brother. He knew what he must do. First, he must learn how to control the Bleak within him; if Saya can do it, he could do it too. Second, he must find his brother and Vincent and convince them to stop whatever it is they are doing. After all, saving the universe is secondary; there are plenty of other keybladers in the universe to save it.

Miranda was in her room, on her bed with her katana by her side. She can't help, but feel like Trevor had betrayed her. As far as they know, it's not his fault that he has a Bleak inside him. However, she cannot help but think that Trevor could be a sleeper agent for the Forsaken or something much worse. What if Trevor regains all of his memories and discovers that he's one of bad guys. She gripped the hilt of her sword as she thought of all the possibilities. Hers and Bonkers' mission was to help the keybladers save the universe. If Trevor becomes uncontrollable or loses his way, she must kill him; it's the only way. She cares for the keyblader deeply, but if he ever loses control of that Bleak inside him, he would feel the business end of her sword.

Bonkers slept: he was terribly tired.

**KH-KH-KH**

Deep within the underworld, Persephone, the goddess of springtime sat on the throne of the underworld with her legs crossed, bored to death. Zeus banished Hades from the world entirely, and because of that, the world needed a new god of the underworld. Unfortunately for Persephone, Zeus picked her. _'I can't believe this,'_ she thought. _'Just because I dated Hades a long time ago, doesn't mean that I'm equip to rule the underworld.'_

Pain and Panic appeared before her dragging the soul of Negaduck with them. "Persephone," Panic said in a singsong voice. "We got a 'live' one here."

"Yeah, cast judgment on him," Pain said.

"Get your filthy imp hands off of me!" Negaduck's soul yelled. With amazing strength, he threw the two imps clear across the room and faced the goddess. "Send me back, doll face. I have unfinished business."

"No can do," the goddess said as she stared at the duck. "Once you're dead, you're dead. There's no coming back. Now let's see the deeds of your life." With a snap of her fingers, a list of all of Negaduck's deeds appeared in her hands. As she was reading them, she grew more disgusted by the second. "Okay, most of these I cannot say out loud. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What can I say?" Negaduck shrugged. "I'm a bad boy. You got to break some eggs to make an omelet, sweetheart."

"It's more like you broke the whole kitchen," Persephone said as she burned Negaduck's deeds list to spare the world from reading such depravity. "I'm afraid that I have to send you to the deepest pit of Tartarus." The goddess knew the worst part of the underworld was full of pain and suffering, and Negaduck thrived in pain and suffering; so his punishment will have to be creative. "Your eternal punishment shall be to be surrounded by cute creatures that you can't harm, corrupt, or tune out in a flowery meadow."

"WHAT?" Negaduck yelled.

"I have spoken!" the goddess said with authority. She stretched out her hand and a rainbow portal appeared.

Several pink bunnies popped out of the portal with large doe-eyes looking like they are going to embrace the entire world with love. "Let's be friends!" one of the bunnies said as it gave Negaduck a bear hug.

"Get off of me, you little-" the duck tried to fight back but it's as if something was blocking his ability to maim and kill. The bunnies started to drag Negaduck into the rainbow portal, but the duck tried his hardest to escape their clutches. "Anything but this!" he yelled. "Have me quartered daily, throw me in a pool of lava, or chain me to a wheel that constantly going downhill, but not this!" Negaduck and the bunnies disappeared into the portal never to be seen by any living soul again.

Persephone re-crossed her legs with a smile on her face. "I think I will like being the goddess of the underworld."

**Next Chapter: Conversations**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard: Darkwing Duck(1991)

Launchpad McQuack: Ducktales(1987)

Gosalyn Mallard: Darkwing Duck(1991)

Honker Muddlefoot: Darkwing Duck(1991)

Saya: Blood+(2005)_ but technically she first appeared in "Blood: the Last Vampire"(2000)_

Hagi: Blood+(2005)

Persephone: Greek Mythology

**A/N: Don't to forget to review!**


	17. Conversations

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 16: Conversations**

Cynthia stared at the computer screen looking at the journal entries from all of the universe-traveling groups. As she was looking over the incidents involving the Forsaken, she begins to see a pattern emerging. The pattern was easy to figure once she assumed that Zim and Gir were wild cards. She was wandering should she tell the others; the pattern she found was solid, but it can't predict where the Forsaken would strike next. However, this information could be valuable, especially if they learn the identities of the other members.

"PJ," the keyblader called. "Set up a conference call with Leon, Sora, Mickey, and Trevor. I think I crack part of the code."

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor sat in his captain's chair in the ship's cabin thinking about how he's going to convince Vincent to join him. However, he knows the hardest part of his journey would be confronting his brother. He only remembers a few things about his family and the memories of his brother were the weakest. The only thing he could recall was that Zackary was a skilled keyblader ever since he was young. If memory serves him correctly, a battle with his brother would be long and difficult.

"Incoming transmission," Miranda called from the computer console without looking up once. The blonde cop hasn't look at Trevor since they left St. Canard. The keyblader didn't blame her; he was also having a hard time accepting that he had a Bleak inside of him.

The giant computer screen displayed four windows each containing a different person. In the upper-left window sat King Mickey, while the window to the right of it sat Leon. An image of Cynthia was in the lower-right window, while the remaining window had Sora in it.

"What is it Cynthia?" Leon said with his hand folded. "Have you found something important?"

"Yes," Cynthia cleared her throat. "I think I found a pattern regarding the Forsaken."

Trevor's ears perked up. "Well, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us."

"I noticed a relationship between each Forsaken member and the world they were targeting. First there's Luffy," an image of the late teen appeared on the computer screen. "He appeared at Port Royal right? He also identified himself as a pirate. Therefore, he was a _pirate_ targeting a world filled with other pirates."

King Mickey nodded. "And the others?" the mouse pressed on.

"In regards of Bagheera and Heffer, they were anthropomorphic animals attacking worlds filled with human-like creatures. Marsupilami looked like a jungle animal and he targeted a world covered in thick jungle."

"The Forsaken are targeting worlds that reminds them of their home world," Sora concluded.

"I arrived at the same conclusion," Cynthia nodded.

"So this 'false world' nonsense…," Miranda bit her lower lip in thought. "For some reason they think these worlds replaced their home world?"

"From your logs, it appears so," Cynthia said. "But the problem is that we don't know the identities of the other members, so we can't guess which world they will target next."

"But we do know of one other member; Trevor's older brother." As soon as Leon said that, everyone cast a gaze at Trevor. Trevor just wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, but he didn't let his face show what he was feeling. "Trevor, will your brother attack your world?" the president of Radiant Garden asked. "Both of you were born on the City of Lost Angels, right?"

Trevor inwardly cringed; he didn't know if he was born on that world. In his fuzzy memories, he remembers a world covered in meadows and that wasn't the City of Lost Angels. "It's a possibility that he could attack that world," Trevor said finally. "It doesn't matter anyway… Thanks to the deal I made with Yuko I can't go back."

Leon and King Mickey went pale. "You made a deal with the space-time witch?" the king asked. "She is known throughout many worlds and is probably the most powerful mortal being in the universe."

"She's the source of many urban legends in our world," Leon spoke softly. "Some say she will take away what's most important to you to grant your wishes, others say she once created two gods."

"There were plenty of tales about her in Traverse Town," Cynthia said solemnly.

The king sighed, "If you can't go back to your home world because of a deal you make with Yuko, then I guess I can travel there and have a look around. There's something I wanted to check out there anyhow."

"Please do, your Majesty," Leon said. "If anyone don't have anymore to add, then I declare this call over."

One by one the four 'windows' went blank; the conference was over. Trevor sighed and shook his head; he never felt so useless in his life. "I guess they won't trust me anymore," he said to Bonkers and Miranda. "They know that my brother is the leader of the Forsaken, and no doubt they have read your report on St. Canard."

"If you are talking about the part where Saya says you're part Bleak, I edit that part out of the report," Miranda said as she got up.

Trevor was astonished. Did he hear that correctly? "Why did you do that?"

"I figured that the others didn't have to know about that particular piece of information. At least, not yet."

The keyblader was deeply touched that he had such a good friend. "Miranda, thank you…"

The blonde cop stopped as the door leaving the cabin opened. "Just make sure you don't lose control. We don't want another incident like the one in Rustic Backwoods." Miranda walked out of the cabin and as the door closed behind her, Trevor swore he saw the cop wiped her eyes.

The keyblader looked over at Bonkers and the cartoon bobcat smiled back at him. Trevor tried to draw out a smile of his own, but couldn't find the strength. 'This is going to be a long journey,' he thought as he put his head in his hands.

**KH-KH-KH**

Kyle awoke drenched in sweat. He dreamt that he was fighting a giant Heartless duck that had a bad taste in clothes. Lucky for him the memory of his dream was fading and soon it was nothing more than a faint shadow.

"Are you alright, Mr. Birch?" said a familiar voice. The sandy blond keyblader focused his eyes and saw Ed with a look of concern spread across his face. "It sounds like you were having a nightmare."

Kyle yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm fine Ed, really." Then the keyblader noticed something was amiss. "Why is the gummiship rocking so much?" He looked over and saw Mr. Whiskers at the controls pressing random buttons while jerking the steering wheel. "YOU LET WHISKERS DRIVE?" he yelled as he ran toward the rabbit.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," the otter scratched his head.

Kyle grabbed Mr. Whiskers out of the driver's seat by the ears. "Dude, how many times I have to tell you; only Ed and I get to pilot."

"Aww, give me one good reason why I can't be at the controls?" Whiskers huffed.

"The last time you took control you crashed into seventeen meteors," the keyblader deadpanned.

"Give me another reason," the rabbit protested.

The keyblader just dropped the rabbit unceremoniously and took over the controls. This whole experience was so surreal to Kyle. He went from beach bum to traveler of the universe in just the matter of days. The only thing he complains about is the strange dreams he was having.

"Is there's something wrong Mr. Birch?" Ed asked after a few moments of silence.

"What? No, not really…," Kyle said being dragged out of his thoughts. "Do you guys ever have dreams where you don't star in them? You know, where you become a different person?"

"You mean when one has a dream where they become a superhero?" Whiskers said excited. "Man, I love those dreams. Until I realize I wasn't wearing any pants…"

"No, dude nothing like that," Kyle rubbed his temples. "When another person is in your dreams instead of you. A dream where you don't appear in."

The otter scratched his head, "I never heard of that. So what are these dreams about?"

"They all center around someone my own age, who travels with a blonde woman and, oddly enough, a talking bobcat."

"What's so odd about traveling with a bobcat that can talk?" Mr. Whiskers asked with his head tilted.

Kyle then realized that it wasn't so odd after all, especially since he's traveling with a talking rabbit and otter. "Uh…never mind." The keyblader sighed, "I don't mind the dreams so much, but it just…well… They are so vivid. Every time I recall them, they seem like actual memories than memories of dreams."

"Well, I'm no dream-o-logist," Ed said with his hands together, "but maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something. The only way for these dreams to stop bothering you is to find out what they mean."

Kyle sighed again, "True, but why do I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm not going to like the answer?"

**KH-KH-KH**

In a museum on a far-off world, Vincent Valentine was staring at the remains of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. As he was looking at the fossil he remembered being experimented on by Hojo. He remembered the pain he had to endure. He also remembered how it was so unbearable he almost died. The only thing he could remember after passing out from the pain was awaking up in a coffin that was drifting in the darkness. If Zackary didn't rescue him, he would be still lost in the void.

A commotion started a few feet from him. Several academics burst from a closed off room in a huff. "The lad has gone crazy!" one of them said. "Indeed," another one concurred. "The very idea that such a myth could exist!"

A skinny scholar wearing glasses tried to catch up to the academics, fumbling with papers and charts at every step. "Wait!" he cried out. "I can prove it. I can prove that Atlantis exists!"

Before Vincent could watch this event unfold any further, Zackary walked next to him. "We need to move fast," the leader of the Forsaken said.

"Where are the others?" the gunman deadpanned.

"Doing various assignments. Flicker went to The Big Apple and Jessica is in The Downtown Beat waiting for you-know-who to return to his home world. But I have a special job for you."

"What is it?"

"Trevor has wandered the universe playing hero with his false friends for too long. It is time for him to be at his older brother's side so the Forsaken can restore the universe to its original form."

"So you want me to try to convince him to join you again?"

"Bring him to me kicking and screaming if you have to. Just bring him here, alive."

"What if he uses _that_ power?"

"Then use your own dark power. You and him are the same type of being, are you not?"

Vincent nodded and opened a dark vortex. As he went into the portal, his body shuttered with anticipation as he thought about using the full extends of his power.

**KH-KH-KH**

A blonde young woman wanders aimlessly in a labyrinth of a library. Many of the books were stock neatly on the shelves, but there were many that were scattered across the floor. Occasionally she would take a book off the shelf and flip through it. As she was flipping through the pages, Trevor's memories began to unfold in front of her. Every time she came across a book that contains a memory of her, she would sigh and long for those days to return. When she was finished with a book, she would return it to a shelf and kept on walking. As the young woman wander through the embodiment of Trevor's soul, she can't help but feel a mixture of nostalgia and dread. The endless library was dimly lit and clutter was there every few feet. She picked up a book lying on the floor and flipped through it.

"These aren't Trevor's memories," she said quietly to herself. "Who is Kyle and why are his memories in Trevor's soul?"

"The real question is: why there are more memories of Kyle than Trevor." The woman looked up and saw a Bleak hovering above her tied up in chains. "Hello, Hailey," it smiled wickedly.

"Oh… It's you," she huff. She wasn't afraid of the Bleak ever since she chained him up.

"Don't be like that baby. You are my girlfriend after all."

"You're nothing like Trevor," Hailey tried to storm off, but the Bleak kept hovering above her. The Bleak did look like Trevor except it wore a green suit while Trevor prefers more casual attire.

"I AM TREVOR!" it yelled. "I may be a Bleak, but I'm still Trevor's soul, therefore I'm Trevor's true essence. In fact, this place is nothing more than an extension of me!"

"If that's the case then tell me who Kyle is," Hailey demanded.

"Release me and I'll tell you."

"So you can take over Trevor again? I don't think so."

"If you don't release me then Trevor will die!" This stop Hailey cold, she didn't know if she could trust the Bleak. "This Kyle is not only absorbing Trevor's memories, but he is also absorbing me little by little. If this continues, you, me, and Trevor will be no more. The person known as Trevor will be erased from existence and only Kyle will remain."

Hailey went pale; this can't possibly be true. "How did this happen?" she demanded.

"How should I know?" the Bleak shrugged. "All I know is that for some reason Trevor and Kyle shared the same soul; namely me. However, I know that I can stop Trevor from being erased from this universe if I was free."

"No, there must be another way."

"Think of it in other way; if I take control of Trevor I can track down Kyle and kill him. That way, we can stop Trevor from going bye-bye."

"It's tempting," Hailey admitted, "but I know if I do that innocent people will get hurt along that way."

"You don't have much of a choice here," the Bleak sneered. "Either way, you can't hold me forever and you know it. Little by little, my dark power escapes your chains. I will be in control of Trevor again, just you wait."

The woman sighed and shook her head in distress. "I'm not going to free you, so you can stay here and have your hissy fit. As for me, I'm going to search Trevor's memories to see if I can find anything about this strange connection between him and Kyle." Hailey stormed off heading for the section of the library she knew she would find answers: Trevor's memories of the night their world was taken by the Heartless.

**Next Chapter: Unconventional Fairytale**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Hailey (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Trevor's Bleak (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

**A/N: The bit about Yuko making gods came from Holic vol. 6, an interesting read if I might add. Don't forget to review.**


	18. Unconventional Fairytale

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 17: Unconventional Fairytale**

Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda wandered though a forest path on the world, _Spellbound Grove_, for the past few hours. The woods were filled with weeping willows, tall trees, and the occasional clouds of pollen.

"Can we leave now?" Bonkers sneezed. "This world is giving one bad case of hay fever."

"No, not yet," Trevor sighed. "We need to find the keyhole to this world first. You know our job." The bobcat sighed and Trevor felt for him, he was sick of this world too. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he would find some answers here.

The ground started to rumble and the three stopped in their tracks. A parade of mounted knights, clad in armor, came from down the path and quickly surrounded them. "You there, strange magical creature…thing," one of the knights spoke to Bonkers. "By the order of Lord Farquaad, we are ordered to relocate you so we can protect the purity of Duloc."

As two knights got off their horses to grab the bobcat, Trevor summoned his keyblade and knocked both of them on the ground. "He's a sorcerer!" one of the knights yelled. "Of course, who else could summon a weapon out of thin air," another knight added.

The captain of the knights nodded and signal for other knights to capture the keyblader. "Your sorcerous ways won't help you now. Grab the woman too, she guilty by association."

Trevor tried to fight, but there were too many knights. The group was quickly overwhelmed and their weapons were forced out of their hands. The next thing the keyblader knew, he was struck in the back of the head with a sword's hilt and passed out.

**KH-KH-KH**

"_Wake up, Trevor!"_ a voice within the keyblader's head echoed. _"Please get up. There's so many people you have to save…including yourself."_

Trevor began to stir as he tried to match the voice with a face in his memories. He came up empty, but he found himself whispering, "…Hailey?…"

"Who's Hailey?" said a different voice. The keyblader opened his eyes and saw Miranda standing over him. Bonkers was off to the side sitting on a stump.

"Miranda, where are we?" Trevor got up and looked around. From the looks of it, they were in a refugee camp located in the middle of a swamp. A menagerie of creatures was forced to live in tents and poor living conditions.

"From what I can gather," Miranda started, "this is an internment camp for magical creatures and anyone possessing a supernatural ability."

"This world doesn't like magic, huh?" Trevor coughed. "At least they didn't burn us at the stake."

"Ahem my brother. And I tell you there is nothing worse than charred donkey."

Trevor turned around and saw a talking, gray donkey, grinning like there's no tomorrow. "A talking donkey?" he asked Miranda.

"Yup," the blonde crossed her arms, "and he won't stop talking."

"I know I shouldn't be surprise after all that I have seen, but I'm still surprised."

"I'm constantly surprised all the time," the donkey continued. "The name's Donkey by the way."

"A donkey named Donkey, well; at least it's easy to remember. Say Donkey, do you know why-"

Before Trevor could finish his sentence, there was a commotion coming from the middle of the swamp. In the midst of the camp, sat a humble house and a green ogre came crashing through the front door. "What are all of you doing in my swamp!" it yelled. "Alright, get out of here! Move it!" The ogre's eyes then fixed upon one creature; and that was Donkey.

"Don't look at me," Donkey protested. "I didn't invite them."

"Well, no one invited us," said a random witch. "We were forced here."

"By whom?" the ogre demanded.

"Lord Farquaad," said one of the three little pigs. "He huffed and puffed and sighed an eviction notice."

The ogre sighed thinking of a way to rectify this, so he can live in his swamp in peace. "Who know where this Farquaad…guy is?" Everybody remained silent, expect for Donkey who was jumping up and down screaming that he knows the place. "Anyone else?" the ogre said hopefully, but only Donkey replied. "Okay fine," the ogre said exasperated. "Attention all fairytale…things. Do not get comfortable, your welcome is worn out! In fact, I'm going to see this guy Farquaad right now and get you all off my land and back where you came from!" All of the creatures cheered, much to the ogre's annoyance. He pointed to Donkey and said, "You, you're coming with me."

"We're coming too," Trevor announced. "I like to see this Farquaad so I can learn what his intentions are."

Bonkers climbing on the ogre's shoulder, which irritated the ogre, and sat on his right shoulder like it was nothing. "So, what do we call you?" the cartoon bobcat asked.

"Shrek," the ogre responded, "And get off my shoulder, you're bothering me!"

Bonkers obliged and jumped to the ground while Donkey pranced around. "Alright, Shrek, Donkey, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers; five friends on a big city whirlwind adventure. I love it!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Deep in the castle of Duloc, Lord Farquaad sauntered into the dungeon. He was a man short in stature, but he ruled the kingdom with an iron fist. The lord walked toward a table where a talking gingerbread man with no legs was lying there on a cooking pan. "Run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man," he mocked the pastry.

"You're a monster!" the cookie protested.

"I'm not a monster, you are! You and the rest of that fairytale trash ruining my perfect world. Especially since your kind attracts the Heartless. Now, WHERE ARE THE OTHERS!"

"Eat me!" the gingerbread man cursed then spit in Farquaad's eye.

The ruling lord wiped eye in disgust. "I tried to be fair to you creatures, but my patience has reached its end! Tell me or I'll-" He reached to pull off one of the cookies gumdrops.

"No, not the buttons!" the cookie screamed. "Not the gumdrop buttons! Okay, I will talk. Do you know the muffin man?"

"The muffin man?"

"The muffin man."

"Yes, I know the muffin…who lives on Drury Lane?"

"Well, she's married to the muffin man."

"The muffin man?"

"The muffin man!"

"She's married to the muffin man…" Before Farquaad could interrogate any further, the door opened and two soldiers carrying a large mirror came in.

"My lord," one of the soldiers said as they put down the mirror, "We found it!" Smoke swirled inside the mirror and formed a floating face.

"The magic mirror…" Farquaad said in awe.

"DON'T TELL HIM ANYTHING!" the gingerbread man yelled.

"Get rid off him," Farquaad ordered. One of the soldiers opened a trashcan and threw the cookie in it. The lord approached the mirror, determined to get the answers he seeks. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, is this not the most perfect kingdom of all?"

"Well, technically you're not a king," the mirror spoke. Farquaad snapped his fingers and one of the guards broke a handheld mirror as a warning. "What I mean is…," the mirror stuttered, "You're not a king, _yet_. But you can become one, by marrying a princess."

"Go on," Farquaad said intrigued.

"Well, there is one princess that hasn't been rescued yet. There is Princess Fiona who is trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon in a castle over a hot lake of lava."

An image of a redheaded woman appeared in the mirror and Farquaad was pleased. "She perfect, all I have to do is find someone stupid enough to go on an epic quest to save her."

"I should tell you one other thing," the mirror warned. "You see…at night she-"

"SILENCE!" Farquaad ordered. "I will make this Princess Fiona my queen and Duloc will finally have the perfect king! Captain, assemble your finest men, we are going to have a tournament."

**KH-KH-KH**

Shrek, Trevor and the others finally arrived at Duloc. "So, I take it that is Lord Farquaad's castle," Trevor said as he stared at the gigantic castle.

"You think he's compensating for something?" the ogre joked. They entered the courtyard of the castle and were surprised to find it completely empty. "It's quiet," Shrek commented, "Too quiet…"

Then several Soldier Heartless appeared before them, every one of them with a hungry look in their yellow eyes. They charged the group as they took out their weapons. Trevor was the first one to attack, destroying two Heartless with two swift swipes of his keyblade. Shrek pounded two Heartless into submission, while Miranda performed a series of combos with Bonkers backing her up with a barrage of Blizzard spells.

When the last creature was destroyed, Donkey came out of his hiding place and marveled at the group's strength. "Wow, you guy beat the snot out of those Heartless!"

Bonkers thoughts were somewhere else though. He walked down the courtyard a little and tilted his head as if he was listening for something. "Guys, do you hear that?"

Trevor stopped and listened, "It sounds like cheering. Maybe this place isn't so deserted after all."

They traveled a ways before reaching a huge corridor that led them into the coliseum. There Lord Farquaad was addressing the knights about to fight in the tournament. The whole town was in intendance for this event. "Brave knights," Farquaad began. "The champion who wins this tournament will have the honor, no the privilege, to go forth and rescue the lovely Princess Fiona from the fiery keep of the dragon. If, for any reason, the winner is unsuccessful, the first runner-up will take his place…and so on, and so forth. Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." The crowd cheered and the knights looked at each other nervously, not wanting to lose their lives so the lord could have a girlfriend. "Let the tournament begin!" Shrek and the others made their way through the pack of knights so they can address Farquaad. The crowd grew silent as they realized that an ogre was on the field. "What is that?" Farquaad sneered. "My god, it's hideous!"

"Well, that's not very nice," Shrek said, "It's only a donkey."

"Indeed… Knights, new plan! The first one to kill the ogre and his group of rogue friends will be named champion. Have at 'em!"

The knights charged at them with their swords held up high. Trevor parried one attack and kicked one soldier out of the way. "We do not want to hurt you," the keyblader said as he kept dodging attacks.

"Trevor, even though we don't want to hurt them, they want to hurt us," Miranda said as she performed a counterattack.

"Then what do we do?"

"Non-lethal combat like what Shrek is doing?" Trevor turned around, and saw Shrek performing wrestling moves to knock out so for the knights. "You don't have to worry about the soldiers too much, they are wearing armor," Miranda continued.

When Trevor dodge-rolled to escape an enemy's downward slash attack, he noticed a faint glow coming from his pocket. He reached in the pocket and pulled out the totem pole charm he received during his time on the world Rustic Backwoods. He held the charm close and whispered, "Give me strength." As soon as those words left his lips, the charm burst into tiny lights and formed a large keyhole. Out of the keyhole, Lazlo, Raj, and Clam jumped out and tackled the keyblader forming a dog pile. "What are you guys doing here?" Trevor asked a bit perplexed.

"Well, you see…hmm, to think of it, why are we here?" Lazlo said.

"Summoned!" Clam rejoiced in his usual monotone.

'_Did he say summoned?'_ Trevor thought. _'Did I summon them using the charm? I don't remember making a summon pact with them.'_ Nevertheless, the keyblader was thankful he has extra help.

"Ooo, are we at a Renaissance fair?" Lazlo asked in awe.

"Uh, yes, yes we are," Trevor lied. "And we are playing a game."

"Ooo, what's the name of the game?" Raj clapped his hands in excitement as the knights slowly started to surround them.

Thinking quickly, Trevor came up with an answer. "It's called Last Man Standing and the goal is to knockout the knights without seriously hurting them."

"Game on!" Clam yelled as he mysteriously pulled a giant mallet out of nowhere and whacked a couple of soldiers with it.

Lazlo and Raj pulled out slingshots and started shooting the swords out of the knights' hands one by one. Trevor helped them by cast Fire at the remaining knights.

When every soldier was down and the battle won, the Jelly Cabin Trio turned into bits of light and form back into the totem pole charm. Trevor gave a silent thanks to the three young animals and put the charm back in his pocket.

Lord Farquaad was not thrilled; he snapped his fingers and several rows of archers appeared ready to strike down the group at any moment. "People of Duloc," Farquaad proclaimed. "I give you our champions!" The crowds cheered and the group of travelers looked around slightly confused. "Congratulations ogre, you and your friends won the honor on embarking on a great and noble quest!"

"Quest?" Trevor said taken back. "We are already on quest to find out why you force all those magical creatures to live in Shrek's swamp."

"Those vagrant, filthy creatures?" the lord scoffed. "Where else am I going to put them? The filth kept attracting those Heartless creatures and I can't have the perfect kingdom if Heartless keeps appearing in it."

"But it's my swamp!" Shrek protested. "You have no right to dump them in it!"

Farquaad was getting bored and time was wasting, "I tell you what ogre, I make you a deal. You and your friends go on this quest for me and I will give you your swamp back."

"Exactly the way it was," the ogre warned.

"Down to the last slime covered toadstool."

"And the squatters?"

"As good as gone."

"What kind of quest is it?" Miranda asked not trusting Farquaad.

"Oh, it's just a small one…" Farquaad smiled.

Hours later, the group found themselves wandering through a field, off to save Princess Fiona.

"So… We have to save a princess from a fire-breathing dragon that lives in a castle that's above an active volcano," Trevor said resting his keyblade on his shoulder. "I fought against worse."

"What worse than a fire-breathing dragon?" Donkey asked.

"Try a giant squid." The keyblader shuttered when he remembered his encounters with the gigantic cephalopod.

"Shrek, you really surprised me back there," Miranda said.

"Oh yeah, how so?" the ogre asked with one eyebrow up.

"It just that I thought ogres were vicious monsters, but you handle the situation quite well."

"I think he should have been more ogre-like," Bonkers said. "Lay seize on his fortress, grind his bones to make your bread."

"Yeah Shrek, you should have opened a can of kick-butt all up side Farquaad's head," Donkey nodded in agreement.

"For you own information, there's a lot more to ogre than most people think," Shrek began. "For example ogres are like onions."

"They smell," Bonkers guessed.

"No," Shrek sighed.

"They make people cry," Donkey guessed.

"Whatever it is, it's not a good analogy," Trevor huffed.

"No," Shrek fumed. "Layers, we both have layers."

"But not everyone likes onions," Bonkers said.

"But everybody likes cake," Donkey said. "Cakes have layers."

"I don't care what everybody likes, ogres are like onions," Shrek insisted.

"Well, what about parfait? There's nobody in the world that doesn't like parfait," the beast of burden proclaimed.

"Maybe there's a reason why donkeys normally don't talk," the ogre said as they continued to walk down the path.

The group has finally reached their destination; they reach the top of the volcano and saw a rope bridge leading to a large, worn-down castle. They cross the bridge and wandered throughout the abandoned, dark castle.

"Where do you think the princess is located?" Trevor asked softly in fear that the dragon might hear him wherever it is.

"She is probably in the highest room in the tallest tower," Shrek simply stated.

"Why do you think she is there?" Bonkers inquired.

"I read it in a book once." Shrek led them to an open courtyard and sure enough, they could see the tallest tower and there was a faint glow coming from the highest room. "Well, we found the princess, but where is the dragon?"

"Don't worry it's coming," said a dark voice. Everyone turned away and saw Vincent Valentine.

"Vince," Trevor said as he summoned his keyblade.

"I think you should be more worry about the dragon," as soon as the gunman said that the dragon burst through a wall and attacked them all. Bonkers cast ice spells which slowed the beast down; Shrek grabbed a nearby sword and helped Miranda attack the dragon. Trevor was about to enter the fray when Vincent stopped him. "You and me have some unfinished business," he said darkly.

"I couldn't agree more," the keyblader said as he lunged at Valentine. Vincent easily dodged the attack, pulled out one of his guns and fired at Trevor. Trevor evaded the bullet and performed a sideward swipe. Valentine blocked the attack with his prosthetic arm and dodge-rolled while firing off a couple of rounds. Trevor cast Protect and the bullets bounced off the magical barrier. Vincent then took out a shotgun and fired, shattering Trevor's Shell spell. Trevor was knocked off his feet when the spell broke. He watch as his former friend walked over and pointed a gun at his head.

"Are you going to come peacefully or do we have to take off the kid gloves and start playing dirty?"

"How about neither," Trevor spat. "Why are you doing this? Why are you working for my brother and what does he want from me?"

"He wants you to help him achieve his goals. Isn't it obvious?"

"It doesn't have to be this way, Vincent. Together we can join forces and stop both my brother and Naraku."

"Somewhat tempting, but I think I'll pass," Vincent fired his gun, but Trevor rolled out of the way just in time.

Trevor felt the dark power whelm up inside of him again and soon his keyblade was replaced by the dark, battle-axe keyblade. As the power reached its peak within him, he lost control of his body and was forced to watch it go berserk again. Vincent Valentine was having a hard time fighting Trevor in this state. Trevor's dark powers gave the keyblader more strength, speed, and accuracy. Vincent's body trembled as he saw that Trevor's eyes were now pitch black and a maniac smile was spread across his face.

"So, you don't have control over the Bleak inside you," the gunman said to the possessed keyblader. "Right now you are nothing more than a wild animal that needs to be put down. Speaking of wild animals," dark swirls of energy danced around the gunman. "I think it's time to reveal my true power." Vincent was engulfed in black flames and the flames grew larger and larger. Out of the blaze stepped forth a gigantic black dog with blazing yellow eyes and sharp gashing, white teeth. Vincent's new form didn't faze Trevor's possessed body one bit; it leapt up high in the air and started attacking.

The others weren't having any luck with the dragon. A short while ago, the dragon smacked Shrek into the tallest tower and has cornered Miranda, Bonkers, and Donkey.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you two," Bonkers cowered in fear.

Donkey, however was trying to talk his way out. "What nice, big teeth you got there. You must hear this from your food a lot, but you must have bleach your teeth or something, cause you have a dazzling smile." The dragon stopped what it was doing and fluttered its eyes at the beast of burden. "You're a girl dragon? I mean, of course you are a girl dragon, because you are reeking of feminine beauty." The dragoness then blew a smoke ring in the shape of a heart at Donkey.

"I think she likes you…," Miranda spoke softly.

"Oh no, oh no," Donkey said to the dragon. "I don't think this relationship is going to work out, especially since I'm asthmatic and you blowing smoke rings." The dragon paid the donkey no mind and gently picked him up with her mouth and started to carry him back to her lair.

"Miranda, we gotta save Donkey!" Bonkers trembled in worry.

"But look at Trevor," it was the first time that the two cops realized that Trevor was fighting with Vincent the whole time.

"WHERE DID THAT DOG COME FROM!" the cartoon bobcat said in shocked.

Miranda wasn't concerned about Vincent's other form, but the fact that Trevor was now wielding the dark keyblade. _'He lost control again,'_ she inwardly cringed. "Bonkers, try to see if you can help Donkey break his involuntary tryst with the dragon. I will help Trevor and Shrek." The bobcat nodded and ran after the dragon. Miranda remembered the promise she made to herself that she will kill Trevor if he ever lost control again, but can she really do such a thing? _'Let's see how this battle turns out. Then I will make my decision.'_

The blonde woman watched as the two clashed with each other. It was like watching a fable of old coming to life; the demigod battling a monster that embodied the primeval forces of nature. The two's excess power was so strong that Miranda could barely stand and felt sick to her stomach. Vincent tried to swallow Trevor in one bite, but the keyblader cast a Dark Firaga spell and seriously burned the gunman. When Valentine flinched, Trevor took the opportunity to attack him. The keyblader executed an onslaught of devastating combos forcing Vincent to transform back to his original form. As the gunman lay panting on the ground, the keyblader stroke up to him with keyblade at hand.

Before the keyblader was three feet away from Vincent, he stopped and clutched his head. "What are you doing?" the Bleak raged inside of him called out. "We need to kill him!" However, Trevor's conscience was persistent and was trying to regain control of its body. _'I control you, you don't control me!' _Trevor screamed back at the Bleak. After a few seconds of struggling, Trevor's eyes return to normal and the dark keyblade slowly dissipated from his hand. As soon as Trevor caught his breath, he summoned he regular keyblade and face Vincent.

"You should have relied on that dark power of yours," Valentine said as he got up. "It's the only way you could defeat me."

"I don't need that power," Trevor stated. "Not as long as I have friends."

"What friends?"

"He means me," Miranda said standing next to Trevor. "He also has Bonkers and the rest of our friends."

Vincent gave a silent chuckle and opened a portal. "You may have won this time Trevor, but I'll be back and sooner than you think. I will not fail Zackary." The gunman disappeared in the portal and the vortex dispersed in a whiff of smoke.

At first, the two said nothing, and then Miranda broke the silence. "So…you took control of…that thing inside you?"

"Yeah," the keyblader simply stated. "It wasn't easy, but it's strange. I felt that someone was helping me subdue the Bleak inside me… Weird…" It was then that Trevor realized something was amiss. "Where are Bonkers, Shrek, and Donkey? And the dragon for that matter?"

Before Miranda could answer, Shrek burst through the tower door with Princess Fiona in hand. "Get your hands off me you stupid ogre!" the redheaded princess cursed at Shrek. She turned and saw Trevor, forced her hand out of Shrek's, and ran toward the keyblader. "Please tell me you're the knight that came to save me."

"Uh, no. That would be Shrek there," Trevor pointed to Shrek.

The princess wasn't pleased to hear that, "The first time I get rescued, it by an ogre! At least you killed the dragon."

"Actually, the dragon is still alive, it wants Donkey to be its boyfriend, and Bonkers is trying to rescue him," Miranda admitted.

"You guys didn't slay the dragon?" Fiona screamed.

"It's on our to-do list!" Shrek yelled back. "Miranda, where did the dragon run off to?"

"From the looks of it, the east wing of the castle," the cop pointed out. "Hopefully, it's not too late…"

"Shouldn't we be making our escape?" Fiona questioned.

"Well, we gotta save our ass," Shrek simply stated.

"Just who are you people?" the princess demanded.

Deep within the dragon's lair, the dragon has Donkey wrapped up with her tail to prevent him from escaping. She had captured Bonkers long ago and now the bobcat was bound and swinging by his feet from a rope connecting from the ceiling. Donkey was still trying to talk his way out of this situation, "Slow down, baby, please. I believe it's healthy to get to know someone over a long period of time. Just call me old-fashioned. I don't want to rush into a physical relationship of this magnitude."

At that moment, Shrek, Trevor, and Miranda snuck their way into the room, trying to avoid detection. Bonkers noticed them and silently mouthed the words: "HELP ME!" Trevor nodded and put a finger to his lips warning the bobcat to be silent.

In the middle of his plead to be released, Donkey noticed the three warriors attempting a rescue. "Guys, save me!" the donkey yelled. The three fighters slapped their heads as the dragon turned around and spotted them. The dragon lunged at them and all three of them jumped out of the way. Miranda jumped and cut Bonkers lose. Once freed, the bobcat cast Thundaga on the dragon to prevent the beast from attacking Trevor and Shrek. The ogre leapt down from a ledge and grabbed Donkey carrying him under his arm. Once the heroes left the lair, Trevor and Bonkers set up a magic barrier to prevent the dragon from leaving.

"I don't know how long that barrier will last," the keyblader admitted. "But we should leave all the same."

The group joined with Princess Fiona as they ran out of the castle. "Oh, hello princess," Donkey said causally.

"So you guys saved the princess, huh?" Bonkers added.

"The animals talk?" the princess said shocked.

"Yeah, but getting them to shut up, that's the trick," Shrek remarked.

Once they were a safe distance from the volcano, Fiona refused to go further. "My one true love can't be an ogre," she fumed. "That's not the way it works!"

"I'm not happy about this either," Shrek complained. "Besides, I didn't rescue you for me, but for Lord Farquaad."

"Well, you can tell Lord Farquaad that if he wants to rescue me properly then he can pick me up right here!" Fiona than defiantly sat on a rock with her arms crossed.

"Hey, I'm nobody's messenger boy; I'm a delivery boy," the ogre warned.

"You wouldn't dare!" the princess yelled back.

"Relax you two," Trevor tried to be the peacemaker. "Duloc is only a little ways ahead. We should be there at sunset."

"Sunset?" Fiona said with dread. "We need to find a place to camp for the night. There are…eh, robbers in the woods!"

"Woah, timeout, camping does sound like a good idea," Donkey said.

"We have nothing to worry about," Shrek sighed. "I'm scarier than anything we would find in the woods, Trevor and Miranda have weapons, and the strange cat-thing can use magic. We'll be fine."

Before they could take another step, Fiona ran in front of them, turned around and yelled, "I want somewhere to camp, NOW!"

Because the princess won't give them any peace, they eventually decide to camp for the night. They decided that the best place to camp was by a small cave big enough for one person. "This will do nicely," Fiona said. "All it needs are a few homey touches." She ripped off a huge piece of bark from a nearby tree. "Like a door. Well, gentlemen and lady, I bid thee goodnight." She entered the cave and shut the 'door' behind her.

"I can see why she's not one of the princesses of heart," Trevor muttered under his breath.

"Hey Shrek, what are we going to do once we get our swamp back?" Donkey asked.

"Our swamp?" the ogre raised an eyebrow.

"You know when we are done rescuing the princess and all that."

"I'm going to build a four-star restaurant with my share of the land," Bonkers said lying down.

"There are no we you guys, there's only me and my swamp. And the first thing I'm going to do is build a ten foot wall around my land," Shrek said hoping that would end the discussion.

"You cut me deep Shrek, you cut me real deep," Donkey whined.

"Why do you want to keep everybody out of your swamp?" Miranda asked sitting down.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Are you hiding something?" Donkey asked.

"Never mind, Donkey."

"Does this have to do with the onions and the layers things you talked about earlier?" Bonkers inquired.

"No, this is one of the drop-it-and-leave-it-alone things."

"Who are you trying to keep out?" the keyblader asked.

"Everyone, OKAY," Shrek snapped at them. "The world seems to have a problem with me. People take one look at him and go 'Ah! Help, run! It's a stupid, ugly ogre!' …They judge me before they even know me. That's why I'm better off alone."

"We don't think you are a big, stupid, ugly ogre," Bonkers said.

"Yeah Shrek, you have friends in all of us," Trevor added.

"Yeah, I know," Shrek said sitting down looking up at the sky. "Hey, the stars are coming out." As sunset slowly turns into nightfall, one by one the stars show themselves to the travelers. "You guys know that the stars tell stories, right?"

"Hm-mm," Trevor agreed. "Over there is Scorpio and over there is Sagittarius and that is…hmm, that's strange." The keyblader scratched his head as he stared at a certain group of stars. "That constellation looks like Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

The next morning, the group woke up and found that Fiona made them breakfast.

"What's all this, then?" Shrek asked.

"Breakfast…and an apology. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. I mean, after all, you guys did rescue me," the princess said as she passed around fried eggs to everybody.

"You are not what I expected princess," Shrek admitted.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't judge people before you know them." Before the princess could say another word, several archer Heartless appeared and attacked them. The Heartless were small and wore helmets like the Soldier Heartless, but this kind had crossbows and wore light armor. One of the Heartless grabbed Princess Fiona and tried to drag her away. Before anyone could do anything, Fiona delivered a crushing elbow attack on the creature's head destroying it. The other Heartless began attacking her and she dodged the arrows with expert precision. One by one, she took out the Heartless with an array of martial art moves. Once she destroyed the last Heartless, she straightens up her hair and continues as if nothing had happen.

"Hold the phone," Shrek said, "Where did you learn to do that? That was amazing."

"Well, from a lot of places," she said coyly. "When you are a princess locked in a tower you have to learn certain things just in case you met any unsavory characters. Well, come on. The sooner we get to Duloc, the sooner I will get married."

"Remind me never to piss her off," Trevor said to Miranda.

As the group traveled through the countryside, it was obvious that Fiona and Shrek were starting to develop feelings for one another. As they were nearing their destination, Trevor felt something warm inside his heart. His mind then flooded with random images of him and the blonde young woman his been seeing in his visions. _'These are memories of two people in love,'_ Trevor thought. _'The blonde woman…was she…is it possible that I have a girlfriend somewhere?'_ The keyblader continued to ponder this as they kept on blazing the trial. _'If the blonde woman is my girlfriend, is she trying to contact me through these visions?'_

Hours passed and the sun was ready to end its journey for the day. Of course, Fiona wanted to set up camp, much to the confusion of the others. They could see Duloc clearly now and it was only a few miles away. Nevertheless, the princess insisted and they decided to camp out near a windmill.

Once the princess went inside the windmill to retire for the night, Donkey gave Shrek a sly smile. "Now I see what's really going now."

"Oh, what are you talking about?" Shrek asked defensively.

"We know you and Fiona have a crush on each other," Miranda said with her arms crossed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the ogre said in a huff.

The blonde just rolled her eyes. "Please Shrek, I'm a woman and I can sense this type of stuff."

"And I'm an animal," Donkey added. "I can sense all kinds of pheromones going on between you and the princess."

"All of you are crazy," Shrek said exasperated. "I'm just bringing her to Farquaad."

"You don't have to, you could just let Farquaad keep the swamp," Trevor said. "You and the princess could elope or something. After all, it was you who saved her from the tower."

"Yeah, swamps come and go, but true love only come once in a lifetime," Bonkers beamed.

"That was real deep Bonkers," the keyblader rolled his eyes.

"Every now and then I say something profound," the bobcat defended himself.

"Anyways," the female cop rolled her eyes again, "you should tell her how you really feel, Shrek. In the end of the day, that's all a woman truly wants."

"And it happens to be the end of the day now," Donkey said. "So go and tell her."

"There's nothing to tell," Shrek sighed. "Besides she's a princess and I'm an ogre." Shrek got up and left the camp.

"Give him time," Miranda said. "Let him sort out his feelings."

Later that night, Shrek hasn't return to camp yet and the others were starting to worry. "Shrek been gone a long time," Trevor stated the obvious. "I hope he didn't get attack by wolves or something."

"I'm more worry about Fiona," Miranda said looking at the windmill. "Why does she always insist on hiding herself up at night?"

"Maybe she's afraid of the dark," Bonkers guessed.

"If that's so, then why there isn't any light coming from inside the windmill. She could at least light a lamp or something."

"Maybe she's only afraid of outside darkness," the bobcat guessed again.

The blonde sighed and got up, "I'm going to go check on her."

"We might as well come too," Trevor threw a stick into the fire. "There's nothing to do here."

They entered the dusty windmill and peered inside. It was strange; there were no signs of life. "Princess?" Miranda called out. "We're just checking up on you."

Nobody answered.

"Fiona stop playing games," Trevor sighed. "Come out, we want to talk to you."

Then something crashed in front of them, the dark figure got up and seemed to tower over them. Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda readied their weapon, but then Fiona's voice rang out. "Guys, guys! It's only me." The figure stepped out into the moonlight revealing it to be Fiona, only something was different about her.

"Fiona, you're a….a…." Trevor stuttered.

"An ogre," the princess finished for him. "When I was a child, I was curse. Every night I'm forced to turn into…this thing. Only true love's first kiss could break the spell."

"So that's why you wanted to camp every night," the keyblader said in realization. "And why you want to get married in a hurry."

"Now you know why I have to marry Lord Farquaad before sunset tomorrow. Once the wedding is complete I can be human completely…instead of this horrible ugly beast!"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad," Trevor tried to calm Fiona down. "You don't have to marry Farquaad."

"But I'm a princess," Fiona cried. "And this is not how a princess should look."

"What about Shrek? I don't think he would mind your appearance," Miranda said.

"Look at me, who could love a beast this ugly? Princesses and ugly don't go together, that's why I can't stay here with Shrek. My only chance for a happily-ever-after is for me to marry my one true love. Don't you see, you guys, that's how it has to be."

Trevor turns to the door and listened carefully. "Trevor, is something the matter?" Miranda asked.

"No, I thought I heard someone at the door for a moment," the keyblader thought aloud. "It was probably just the wind."

"Anyway, getting married is the only way to break the spell," Fiona continued.

"Can't you at least tell Shrek the truth?" Donkey pleaded.

"No, you guys can't breathe a word. No one must ever find out! Promise you guys won't tell."

Everyone promised and bitterly left the windmill. They saw that Shrek still haven't returned yet and decided to settle down for the night. However, before they went to sleep, they all wondered if Shrek and Fiona would ever work out their problems.

They woke up next morning to the sound of thundering hooves. The group immediately saw a swarm of knights surrounding the camp with Lord Farquaad at the lead and Shrek looking pretty piss off. Fiona, in her human form, raced out of the windmill and ran toward Shrek. "Shrek," she cried. "I decided I have something to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me anything princess, I heard all of you last night," Shrek said. "It's like you said, 'Who can love such an ugly beast?'"

"I thought you'll understand," the princess said crestfallen.

"Well, you thought wrong and now that I have my deed to my swamp, I can end this silly little quest."

Before anyone could say anything else, Lord Farquaad stepped in and made his move. "Forgive me princess; pay no attention to the ogre. It's not like it has any feelings."

"You're right, it doesn't," the princess said wanting to get back at Shrek.

"Princess Fiona, I have never seen such a radiant beauty before, and I ask your hand in marriage. Will you be the prefect bride for the perfect groom?"

"Lord Farquaad, I accept," Fiona asked shocking everybody. "But on one condition, we have to get married before sundown."

"Oh, anxious are we? Very well. Come my love, let us make haste. There are so many plans to make before our wedding!"

Fiona got on the back of Farquaad's horse and the lord and his knights raced to the castle. "Fare thee well, rogues," the princess gave one last half-hearted goodbye.

"Shrek, are you going to go after her?" Miranda asked.

"Why should I? She's where she wants to be," Shrek complained.

"But both of you like each other, why did you reject her like that?" Trevor said confused.

"Because I heard all of you last night!" Shrek yelled. "And how she doesn't want to be with someone as ugly as me."

Trevor then realized the sound he heard last night was Shrek and that the ogre must have misunderstood what they were talking about last night. "Shrek she wasn't talking about you she was talking about someone else."

"Who?" Shrek wanted to know.

"It doesn't matter. But right now Fiona is going to get married, because she thinks it's the only way to solve her problem," Miranda said. "Another man is going to marry the woman you love, are you going to take that lying down?"

Shrek thought about it for a short moment before saying his answer, "No, no I'm not. Come on, guys. We have a wedding to crash."

It took them a while to reach Duloc, but they made it. When they reached the chapel doors, Donkey stopped them. "We can't go in now, there's a line you have to wait for line. When the priest says, 'Speak now or forever hold your peace,' you burst in."

"We don't have time for this," Shrek said storming through the church's doors. "I OBJECT!" he yelled startling all the guests. It was a good thing that Shrek didn't wait like Donkey suggested; the wedding ceremony was almost over.

"Now what do you want," Farquaad said angrily. "It's rude enough being alive when nobody wants you, but showing up uninvited to a wedding?"

"Fiona, I need to talk to you," Shrek pleaded.

"Oh, _now_ you want to talk," Fiona huffed. "Well, it's a little late for that, so if you excuse me, I have to be married."

"Wait, you can't marry him, because he's only marrying you so he could be king. He's not your true love."

"And what do you know about true love," the princess demanded.

"Well…I sorta…you know," Shrek stumble over the words he was trying to say.

"Oh, this is precious," Farquaad laughed. "The ogre thinks he's in love with the princess!"

All of the townspeople laughed at the absurdity, but Trevor was sick of this foolishness. "So what? Shrek will make a better husband for Fiona than you," the keyblader proclaim to the lord.

"I highly doubt that!" Farquaad retorted. "Fiona, we are only one kiss away from our happily-ever-after, so kiss me so we can rule as king and queen."

Fiona looked out of the window and saw the setting sun. "There something that I wanted to show you Shrek, I guess now is the perfect time to do it." A golden light enveloped the princess and slowly she turned into an ogre version of herself.

"Well, that explains a lot," Shrek said.

"How disgusting," Farquaad spat. "Guards get these two ogres out of my sight. And since this marriage is binding, that would make me king!" The lord then grabbed a crown and put it on his head. "I am king now!"

"Yes you are," said a voice coming from a newly opened dark portal. Vincent Valentine stepped out and strolled causally to the altar, never taking his eyes off the keyblader. "I told you that I'll be back and sooner than you think."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Farquaad yelled hysterically. "As king, I order you to tell me! There will be no miscreants in my perfect kingdom!"

"You claim that you and your kingdom are perfect… Let's put that to the test." Valentine outstretched his hand and focused his energy on the new king. Dark swirls of energy flutter around Farquaad before completely engulfing him. Out of the dark pillar stepped forth a giant Zip Slasher Heartless. "He was so concern with the darkness in other people's hearts that he failed to see the darkness within his own heart; pathetic."

"Why are you doing this Vincent?" Trevor yelled.

"You already know the answer," the gunman simply stated.

Trevor was about to attack Vincent when he felt a gut-wrenching pain in his side. He looked over and realized that the Heartless cut him. _'It can move that fast?'_ he thought. _'I didn't even see the attack!'_ The Heartless seem to vanish for a second, then a second later, he felt pain on his right leg. The Heartless reappeared behind him, brandishing its two sword appendages.

"Trevor, what do we do?" Miranda yelled.

"Bonkers cast Haste on us, NOW!" the keyblader yelled. Bonkers cast the spell Hastega on the party raising their speed. Now that he was faster, Trevor could see every move the Heartless makes. However, the creature was still too fast even at his accelerated rate. He raised his keyblade and cast "Slow!" on the Heartless, but the dark beast just shrugged it off. _'Slow is ineffective? We're screwed!'_ the keyblader thought as the Heartless lunged at him. He blocked the attack and performed a counterattack. The Zip Slasher was knocked back and completely stunned. _'Now is my chance!'_ "**Sonic Blade!**" Trevor made sure to put extra power in his attack to deal heavy damage with every strike. Once he dealt the fifth strike, the Heartless gave up its giant crystal heart and it floated back to Kingdom Hearts.

"So, you are just as powerful as me Trevor," Vincent spoke. "If not more powerful."

"I'm nothing like you," Trevor spat. "I'm nothing like what you become."

"You're wrong Trevor, like you I have a Bleak for a soul." Needless to say, the keyblader was stunned. Before Trevor could get some answers, Valentine opened a portal. "In case you are wondering, your brother has coined a term for people like us: 'Forlorn.' Personally I like that label, it gives a certain mystique." Vince stepped into the portal and closed it behind him.

Trevor hung his head down for a moment, no knowing what to think. "I see…," he finally said. "At least Farquaad was defeated," he said with a faux smile.

"Well, you know what they say; celebrity marriages never last," Donkey added.

"Shrek," Fiona said to the ogre. "I believe there was something you wanted to say."

"Uh, Fiona….I…I love you," Shrek simply put it.

"Really?" Fiona said with a growing smile.

"Really, really."

"I love you too," they both gently kiss each other and Fiona was whisked in the air by a golden ray of light. Light filled the church as the princess slowly made her descend. When the light faded, Fiona was still in her ogre form and was a bit confused. "I don't understand… I suppose to be beautiful."

"But you are beautiful," Shrek said.

All the townspeople cheered and then another blinding light filled the room. On one of the church's stained glass windows the keyhole to the world appeared. "Time to do my job," Trevor said as he raised his keyblade. With a beam of light and a click, the world was now locked.

"Well, it appears you have some magic of your own Trevor," Fiona commented.

"Yeah, and the sealing of the world means we have to go now," Trevor rested his keyblade on his shoulder. "Shrek, you and Fiona take care," with their goodbyes done, the three universe travelers left the church.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the Heart of Gold, the crew was about to settle down when Eddie alerted them. "We have an incoming emergency transmission gang," the computer chimed as the words 'INCOMING TRANSMISSION' blinked on and off on the screen.

"Who is it from?" Miranda asked.

"Caller ID blocked," Eddie scanned the call again to make sure, but turned up empty.

The screen then displayed the person who was calling. She looked like she could be middle-eastern, but she had platinum blonde hair and a European accent. However, her ethnicity or nationality did not matter, because she was drop-dead gorgeous. "Good evening keyblader and friends," she began seductively. "You three are a hard group to track."

"Who are you and how did you contact us?" Miranda demanded.

"Where are my manners?" the woman rolled her eyes playfully. "My name is Mirage and the company I work for track you down using our unique satellite tracking system. I contacted you to offer a proposal. We believe that our joint efforts will be beneficial to both parties."

"What do you have in mind?" Trevor asked warily.

"We want you and a select group of warriors to handle a job for us. In return, we will provide you with all of our intel of Naraku and an incident that happen on a certain world."

The three travelers were shocked. "You know about Naraku?" they yelled in unison.

"Yes, we have been following him gathering information just incase he and his 'friends' decide to attack our world. You understand that we have to have the upper hand when it comes to these matters."

"What do you mean by 'an incident that happened on a certain world?' What world are we talking about?" Trevor inquired.

"The name of the world in question is _The Land of Still Meadows_ and it was lost to the darkness over a year ago. However, our sources say it has some connection to you, Trevor."

The gears in Trevor's mind connected when Mirage said the name of the world. Old, forgotten memories resurfaced and shown a crystal clear image in his mind. The feeling was so overwhelming that he had to sit down.

"Trevor, are you okay?" Miranda will concern, afraid that the keyblader was having another episode.

"Miranda…," Trevor said softly. "I think I was born on that world."

"So, do we have a deal?" Mirage said with a smug, yet unrevealing smile.

**Next Chapter: Just one Perfect Pebble…**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Shrek: Shrek(2001)

Donkey: Shrek(2001)

Princess Fiona: Shrek(2001)

Lord Farquaad: Shrek(2001)

Gingythe Gingerbread Man: Shrek(2001)

Dragon: Shrek(2001)

Mirage: The Incredibles(2005)

**A/N: The last chapter update for the summer before I go back to school. My next KH update will be the one-shot story "What Wishes May Hold" which serves as a prequel to this story. So stay tuned.**


	19. Just one Perfect Pebble

**Author's Notes: Yes, I finally finished this chapter. By the way, the beginning of this chapter contains a spoiler about the secret ending in _Kingdom Hearts: ReCoded_, so if you don't want to spoiler the surprise skip to the paragraph after the first "KH-KH-KH" Also my other story, _What Wishes May Hold_, a prequel to this story is completed, so check that out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 18: Just one Perfect Pebble…**

Watanuki was busying airing out Yuko's treasure room. He was in the process of dusting all of treasures that was being kept in the room outside. Each of the items was a payment Yuko received when she granted someone's wish. The teen made sure he handled each item with care not wanting to face the witch's wrath if he breaks one of them. Halfway through his chore, Yuko came outside wearing a very formal black dress with her crescent moon earrings and her hair wrapped up in a bun.

"Are you going somewhere Yuko-san," Watanuki asked his employer. "Do you having important business to attend to?"

"I do have business to attend to, but I'm not going anywhere," the witch said plainly.

"Then why-" before Watanuki could ask, a portal opened up only a few feet away from them. The teen stared deeply into the mystical gateway and was in awe. He quoted the famous line from the movie _2001: A Space Odyssey_, which accurately described the portal; "My god, it's full of stars!"

Out of the said portal, an old wizard step forth and nodded at Yuko as the magic doorway closed behind him. The wizard looked the part; he had a long blue robe, a cone-shaped hat with images of the stars and moons on it, and a long graying bread. "Yuko Ichihara," the wizard said with knowledge dripping from his voice, "It has been a long time."

"Likewise Yen Sid," the witch bowed respectfully. "What brings you to my humble shop?"

"News of the most dire nature," Yen Sid closed his eyes and stroked his bread. "My former pupil Mickey Mouse was traveling amongst the worlds looking for clues to finding the demon Naraku and the group known as the Forsaken. He and his companions then went back to their home world, to have a closer look at the journal Jiminy Cricket kept during his adventures with Sora and found a most trouble message; _'Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it.'_ Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, and Goofy dove into the mystery of this message and discovered the location of Ventus' heart. Now that we know the location of Aqua and Ventus, all that is left is Terra. It was then I realize that Master Xehanort may return, if he hadn't already."

"I also came at that conclusion," Yuko said looking down slightly. "Since his Heartless was destroyed before his Nobody, it is likely that his heart will rejoin his body resulting in his resurrection. But why tell me this? Stopping Xehanort is no business of mine, only stopping Fei-Wang Reed. As far as I can see it, my role with keyblader affairs are over."

Yen Sid folded his arms and sighed. "You know that sometimes we don't choose the role we play Yuko." The witch looked down in shame for a minute, but then made eye contact again. The wizard continued, "I'm planning to test Sora and Riku for the Mark of Mastery. It is my fear that Xehanort will not be alone next time and we need all of the Keyblader Masters we can get. That is why I want you to give Trevor the Mark of Mastery exam."

At first Yuko was flustered and taken aback. This shock Watanuki to see Yuko act like this since the witch was always in some control of her emotions and gives the impression that she knew everything. Once the witch regained her composure, she shook her head, "You know I'm not a keyblader anymore. I cannot give the exam; you will have to test Trevor yourself. Besides, what of Kairi and Cynthia? Should they become masters?"

"For starters, Kairi and Cynthia were too inexperience to be tested yet. Second, you are the only one who can test Trevor."

"What about Matthew, surely he could give the test to his son."

"Matthew, at this point of time, is unreachable and may I remind you that you are connected to Trevor with the power of hitsuzen?"

"You don't need to remind me," the witch said with an edge to her voice. "Fine, I will give Trevor the exam."

"Good," Yen Sid nodded and opened another portal. "The journey ahead won't be like the others. I sense it will be filled of pain and suffering."

"To quote a cliché, _'It is always darkness before the dawn.'_"

The old wizard smiled, "And what a glorious dawn it will be when Sora and the others fulfill their densities."

"I have one question to ask you," Yuko said almost hesitant.

"Speak your mind," Yen Sid said.

"What about the keywielder known as Kyle? Should I give him the Mark of Mastery exam as well?"

The wizard stroked his beard and closed his eyes as if in deep thought. "Yuko, you know you can't do that. Kyle's very existence threatens Trevor's. For one of them to live the other must die. Kyle has no place in this universe and is destined to fade." With that, the wizard threw his arms up high and the portal engulfed him, carrying Yen Sid back to his home world.

Watanuki looked at Yuko and see that she was lost in thought. This scared the teen since he wasn't use to the witch looking so unsure of herself. Seeing Yuko in this state also reminded him about the dangers that were going on outside their world. Up until now, he saw the Universe as a disconnected group of systems, but now he knew that whatever effects one world could affect them all. He felt so small, so powerless…

"Yuko…," the teen said in a quiet voice.

The witch looked up and saw Watanuki looking like a lost, scared child; she couldn't blame him. "Everything will be alright," she said, but she wasn't convinced herself. Her thoughts quickly turned back to the Mark of Mastery exam. At the state he is in, Trevor couldn't pass the test if his life depended on it; and it does. Then there's the Kyle issue; she knew that Yen Sid was right, but something inside of her heart was nagging at her. _'What right does anyone have saying someone shouldn't exist?'_ she thought. _'Kyle has the right to exist as does Trevor, but… I can't deny what Yen Sid had said, if Trevor is to live Kyle must die and vice-versa.'_ She thought and pondered until she knew what she has to do. _'It won't be a standard Mark of Mastery exam, but given the situation I'm sure that Yen Sid will allow me to be creative.'_ "Watanuki," the witch said as the teen snapped to attention. "Do you remember the keyblade that I received as payment when that one couple was looking for their lost sons?"

The teen went through his memories, remembered, and nodded his head. "Yes, in fact I was dusting it a while ago." Watanuki scanned the area, overlooking seamlessly useless knickknacks and trinkets. "There it is!" he pointed to the weapon carefully wrapped in cloth.

"Bring it to me," the witch commanded.

The teen quickly ran over to the said item stumbling over several objects along the way. He swiftly unwrapped the weapon, held it in his hands, and admiring the artisanship of the blade. The teeth of the keyblade was a crescent moon, of the guard of the hilt was in the shape of a star, the stem of the weapon had a small, but noticeable arc and shown patterns of other astrological signs all over it. Finally, at the end of the keychain was a butterfly ornament.

Watanuki brought the keyblade over to Yuko and the witch grasped the weapon in her hand. Immediately after taking the weapon, Yuko felt the weight of the universe's destiny resting on her shoulders. "No matter how old I get, I will always fear and be in awe of this weapon…," she said to no one in particular.

"What are you going to do with it?" Watanuki asked her.

Yuko smiled at her hired help, "We're going to make someone a keyblade master."

**KH-KH-KH**

"Let me drive it!"

"No!"

"I'm the hero here, I should drive!"

"I said no!"

PJ rolled his eyes as he watched Cynthia and Max fighting over who gets to drive the gummi ship. Cynthia argued that because she's a keyblader she should be the pilot, but Max argued that the ship was his therefore the only person who could pilot it was him.

Both Cynthia and Max grabbed on the steering mechanism of the ship and tried to pull it from the other.

"Give up Max," Cynthia boosted, "We both know I can beat you in a fight any day of the week."

"In what reality?" Max countered, "If I recall, I saved your life back in Traverse Town."

"Funny, I remembered it was the other way around!"

"Are you calling me a lair?"

"Honey, I can call you things worse than that!"

"Bring it on then!"

"Guys," PJ said trying to intervene. "Can't you two take turns at being pilot?"

"NO!" they both yelled at PJ causing the cat-teen to recoil a bit.

"I'm going to pilot and that's that!" Cynthia demanded as she pulled so hard that the steering gear broke. "Oops…," she said when she realized what she had done.

"Nice going," Max huffed. "Now none of us can pilot."

The keyblader inspect the broken gear closer. "Wait a minute! Was this thing duck taped to the control panel the whole time?" she yelled as she pointed to a piece of gray tape hanging off the gear.

"We had a small incident while leaving Disney Castle the first time," Max sheepishly said.

"And you repaired it will duck tape?"

"It worked didn't it!"

"Guys, shouldn't we be more concerned about the meteors we are going to crash into?" PJ said as he trembled before the enlarging image on the computer monitor.

"What meteo-" Max didn't get to finish his sentence.

_CRASH!_

All of the ship's alarms were going off and all of the warning lights were flashing red. "WARNING: SEVERE DAMAGE DETECTED," the computer system warned them. Cynthia and Max were now rushing to stabilize the ship, but to no avail. "WARNING: CRUCIAL PART OF THE SHIP'S GUIDING SYSTEM HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED." The monitors then showed them an image of a small, green gummi block hurling into inter-space landing on a nearby world; the same world they are going to crash into.

"That's one of our gummi blocks?" the keyblader asked the computer. "Can the ship operate without it?"

"NO," the program said flatly in a computerize voice very reminiscence of the toy _Speak and Spell_.

Cynthia watched on the computer screen as the gummi block broke the nearby world's atmosphere. She desperately flipped several switches in hope to stabilize the ship, but the ship kept rocking and the image of the world kept getting bigger as they entered its atmosphere.

"CRASH IMMINENT; HAVE A NICE DAY," was the last thing the computer said before the ship crashed into a frozen wasteland.

**KH-KH-KH**

A penguin slowly walked across the frozen wasteland of the world humming a song while combing the area looking for the perfect pebble. He quickly adjusted his yellow scarf and continued his desperate search. In the penguin's rookery, it is traditional that one gives a pebble to ask someone's hand in marriage. The woman he wanted to ask her hand in marriage was Marina, the most beautiful penguin in the whole rookery. _'To win the hand of such a beautiful penguin one cannot use these common, riffraff pebbles, only the rarest stone will do,'_ the penguin thought to himself. The penguin made a wish toward the heavens to find the perfect pebble so he can propose to his beloved.

The heavens rewarded him with a sonic boom and the sky set ablaze. A streak of light shot across the sky and headed toward the penguin. Our penguin, of course, wasn't too happy about this and stumbled all over his feet to get out of the falling debris' path. The falling object landed a couple of feet away from him causing a huge shockwave upon impact. When the dust settled the penguin crawled out of his hiding place and gasped when he saw the crater.

The crater was not large by any means and was only two feet in diameter, but when the penguin peeked inside of it, he saw a glowing, bright-green pebble... Or at least, what he perceived to be a pebble. He cradled it like a precious egg as he marveled at its beauty. _'This is it!'_ he thought, _'This is the perfect pebble!'_ The penguin didn't have time to celebrate, because another streak of light made itself known as it broke the sound barrier and unleashed another sonic boom.

The falling object was far bigger than the pebble he held in his hands(er…flippers?). Luckily, the said object landed a few miles away from him, but he still felt the shockwave when it landed. The force of the shockwave was enough to send the penguin off his feet and hurl him four feet backwards. After he got over his initial shock, the penguin re-adjusted his red snow hat and staggered back on his feet. The penguin cautiously walked over to the new crater, trembling with each step. His breath became bated as he peaked over the ridge of the impact area. The size of the new crater was a little over 67' in diameter and dust and debris formed a thick cloud over the center preventing anyone to see what's in it. As the cloud started to dissipate the penguin held his breath as the object that caused the crater slowly came into view. The penguin saw something he couldn't explain; a box-like object painted with the colors brown, burgundy, and green. With great care, the penguin descended into the crater to check out the strange object.

**KH-KH-KH**

All of the alarms turned off and the red lights stopped flashing. Cynthia would like to say that she was relieved, but since the cabin was filled with smoke and her lungs felt like they were on fire she couldn't. She tried to blow away the smoke by fanning her arms but it didn't work. The computer screen then turned itself back on and a prerecorded video of Ludwig von Drake appeared.

"Hello," the recording said in a light German ascent. "If you are viewing this pre-recorded message, it means you have just experience a crash-landing."

"No duh," Max coughed as he switched on the ventilator to get rid of the smoke that filled the cabin.

"Please wait as the computer take complete inventory on the condition of the ship," the recording said before turning itself into binary code with ones and zeros running across the screen. "Uh-oh," the computer said after crunching the data. "It seems like you are missing a crucial gummi block component." The screen showed an image of a small green gummi block before reverting into Ludwig's image. "The ship cannot leave this world without this block," the recording said. "This gummi block, or as I call it GB-1574, allows the ship to go into inter-space. Without it you are dead in the water."

"Just great," Cynthia cursed. "The one thing we lose in the crash happens to be most important thing."

"Luckily," the recording went on, "the ship's sensors indicate that GB-1574 is near. In fact, it is coming closer to the ship."

"How is that possible?" PJ inquired. "A gummi block can't move on its own, can it?"

"Who cares? It makes our job a bit easier," Max huffed as hastily opened the ship's door. The bitter cold wind immediately hit the three when the door was opened. The group covered their eyes and headed outside into the harsh elements.

At first it was hard to see, but Cynthia slowly got use to her surroundings. She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see her skin was replaced with black and white feathers. She felt her face and found a yellow beak. "Guys…," the keyblader cautiously said, "what's going on?"

"Apparently," Max said with great distain, "we have been transformed into penguins." Sure enough, the dog-teen was a penguin too: beak, feathers, and all.

"I don't think I'm a penguin," PJ said a little embarrassed. Both Cynthia and Max turned to look at PJ and saw that he'd transformed into a small seal. PJ's new form was quite hilarious; he looked just like the pokémon spheal.

Max was rolling around on the icy ground with laughter, but Cynthia paced around with avian fury. "This is just great!" she cursed. "First the steering wheel brakes, then we crash land on this godforsaken world, and now we have been transformed into Antarctic creatures! What else could go wrong?"

The keyblader then heard an 'urp' and turned to the source. What she saw was a penguin wearing a yellow scarf holding a brightly colored pebble. She looked at the pebble closely and saw that it wasn't a pebble at all; it was the gummi block. "That gummi block!" she exclaimed as she rushed the penguin. "What did you get it?"

The poor penguin just yelped and ran out of the crater screaming for his life. "Well, that could have gone better," Max mocked sarcastically.

"I agree, that could have been handled better," PJ said adding his two cents.

"Whatever," Cynthia said while mentally slapping herself on the head. "The fact is that penguin has our gummi block and we can't leave this world without it." She sighed heavily before climbing up the crater. "Well, come on. We better catch him before he loses the darn thing."

The group wandered the frozen landscape before reaching their destination. There they found a group of penguins gathered around the edge of a cliff looking down at the water like as if they were saying goodbye to a love one on their deathbed. The three travelers were confused and scanned the crowd as the penguins talked amongst themselves in hushed whispers.

"What's going on?" Cynthia inquired.

"A leopard seal was spotted earlier today," one the penguins said in a quiet voice as he wringed out his hands. "The biggest one we ever saw… It's not natural for a seal to grow that big…"

Before the penguin could trail off Cynthia asked him another question. "By the way, have you seen a penguin with a red snow hat and yellow scarf?"

"You mean Hubie?" the penguin sighed with one of his eyebrows raised. "He's somewhere around here looking for Marina. But why do you want anything to do with that stuttering wimp?"

"He has something that belongs to us," Max called out as the three continued their search for the penguin.

It wasn't long before the group found Hubie, running around like maniac calling his beloved's name. "Marina!" Hubie cried out. "Marina! W-w-w-where are you?"

"There you are!" Cynthia called out to Hubie.

Hubie turned around and gasped, "Y-y-y-you guys are the ones that fell from the sky!"

The keyblader sighed and silently cursed herself for being unable to protect the world order. "Yes, and we need that gummi block back."

Hubie clutched the block tighter and held it to his chest. "You can't have it, it's for Marina."

Before anyone could do anything, a ridiculously muscular penguin came out of nowhere and tripped Hubie. "Hello, nerd," the penguin said in an overconfident voice. He turned to Cynthia and her group, "I see you have groupies Hubie. I congratulate you for scrapping at the bottom of the barrel."

"What did you just say?" Cynthia said as she summoned her keyblade. The tall, muscular just knocked her down and laughed. Max and PJ rushed to the keyblader's side to help her up. Cynthia stared daggers at the tall penguin and saw with her mind's eye a dark aura surrounding the penguin's heart. _'Apparently this guy just a hop, skip, and a jump away from becoming Heartless fodder,'_ she thought.

The muscular penguin refocused his attention toward Hubie. "So Hubie, I heard that you want to be a big ladies' man," the tall penguin mocked.

"Drake, why are you doing this?" Hubie whimpered.

Drake just sneered, "Because Marina is as good as mine and I'm not going to let some wimp like you stand in my way." Drake then swatted Hubie toward the edge of the cliff.

"You b-b-b-b-big bully," Hubie said still cradling the gummi block.

"Pick on someone your own size," Cynthia yelled as she, Max, and PJ charged the tall penguin. Drake just sidestepped the attack and knocked the trio right next to Hubie.

"Wake up and smell the seaweed, you little fools!" Drake growled at them. "Nobody's going to marry a loser like you Hubie. Now give me that stupid pebble!"

"It's not a pebble," Cynthia said as she re-summoned her keyblade. "It's a gummi block and its mine."

"None of you c-c-c-c-can have it," Hubie defended himself. "It's for Marina."

Drake, being bored with this back and forth talking, stomped his foot down with such force that edge of the cliff was crumbling away. "I hope you can swim better than you can t-t-talk," the muscular penguin ridiculed before throwing his head back with laughter. "Have fun with the leopard seal!"

Cynthia, Hubie, Max, and PJ fell into the cold, freezing, dark water. The water ebb and flow along with the undertow, threatening to pull them under. As the group tried to look for a way to escape, a dark shadow past behind them. The shadow circled them as if it was curious about their presence, occasionally stopping for a moment to pick up the vibrations the group was giving off.

The young woman keyblader looked around to see where the dark vibes were coming from. She turned around and saw two huge yellow eyes poking out of the water. The slender and narrow head that the eyes were attached upon slowly lifted itself out of the watery void. The creature slowly opened its mouth without making a sound and silently made its way toward the group. "Heartless!" she screamed and when she did the creature rushed them with full force.

Before anyone could do anything to defend themselves, the Heartless full on tackle separated the group. The attack forced the keyblader under water where she saw the beast as a whole. The Heartless was shape like a black leopard seal, but it was as large as a whale. Cynthia knew now why the other penguins were scared stiff. She couldn't help but wonder if this Heartless was attracted by the darkness in Drake's heart. However, now wasn't the time to wonder, but to survive. Cynthia dove under the dark water and gathered her strength in her keyblade. The keyblader knew she had to be careful since her was on the Heartless' turf now.

The Heartless charged at her and she dodged the attack, but she was surprised when the creature hit her with its tail as it passed by. The impact was so hard that Cynthia thought that some of her bones might be broken. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, so the keyblader bitterly shook off the pain and tried to regroup with her team. She quickly found Max and PJ, but couldn't find Hubie anywhere.

They quickly saw Hubie desperately trying to escape the giant Heartless and swam quickly into a small opening. The Heartless plowed through the opening like it was nothing and continued to chase the poor penguin. Cynthia and her group followed the Heartless. The keyblader hated to admit it wasn't for the penguin's wellbeing, but to get the gummi block back. They followed Hubie and the Heartless all the way to the open ocean where the creature of darkness doubled its effort in defeating the group. The Heartless thrashed its teeth at the group, but Max and Cynthia defended them with a series of counterattacks.

"PJ, a little help please," the keyblade begged as she kept dodging the creature's attacks.

PJ didn't know what to do. There was a new spell he could try out, but he hadn't perfected yet. _'It's worth a shot,'_ he thought as he summoned all of his mana. "**OLD!**" he shouted. When the spell activated, the Heartless immediately began to age rapidly, its black fur turning into gray and its speed and power decreasing.

Cynthia took this as her chance to finish the beast off. With a great burst of speed, the keyblader charged the Heartless and destroyed it with one blow. Its giant crystal heart floated in the water before breaking the surface and drifting off into the sky.

The group of travelers breached the water's surface and made their way to a drifting iceberg. Everyone in the group was shivering in the cold as they quickly drifted away from the mainland.

"Well, this is a fine kettle of fish," Cynthia cursed sarcastically. "How are we going to get back now?"

"The sun is setting, it will be too dangerous to swim to shore with the Heartless lurking in the water," Max said as he hugged himself tighter.

"So we're stuck here till morning," the keyblader spat. "A fine mess you got us in Hubie. If you gave us the gummi block, none of this will ever happen."

"This p-p-p-pebble is for Marina," Hubie stuttered as he gripped the gummi block tighter, "and you can't h-h-have it."

"Whatever," Cynthia said throwing up her arms in exasperation. "We will deal with it in the morning." And with that, no one said anything for the rest of the night.

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia, Max, PJ, and Hubie woke up the next day in a rusting, makeshift cage in the brig of an old decaying fishermen boat. Surrounding them was several other cages stuffed with other penguins looking forlorn and confused as they are.

"Where are we?" Max asked as he quickly got up on his feet.

"You're on the good ship Misery," one of the caged penguins said.

"What a cheery name for a ship," Cynthia said sarcastically. "I thought it was bad luck to name ships such names."

"I can't be on a ship," Hubie said. "I have to get back to Marina."

"Settle down Hubie," Cynthia said before summoning her keyblade. "You will get to see your girlfriend in no time."

Suddenly there was a commotion from above deck. "Grab ahold of him!" said a ruff voice. "Don't let him escape!"

All of the penguins shuttered in their cages. "The Boots are coming," they whispered in fear.

"Who are the Boots?" PJ asked.

He got his answer when the trapdoor above deck opened and three sailors were struggling with a rockhopper penguin. "Open the cage lad!" one of the sailors said to the other. His fellow sailor complied and unfastened of the empty cages so the other two sailors could toss the penguin in it. "Now quiet down or you will get a fist in the beak," the sailors warned the new penguin before going back above deck.

"Come back here you yellowbelly landlubbers!" the rockhopper yelled. "Nobody locks up Rocko the Rockhopper!"

"Funny, those humans just did," Max commented.

Rocko just sneered and waddled around for a bit cursing under his breath. "So where is this scrapheap heading to anyway?"

"We be in warm waters," one of the penguins said.

"We be in Bora-Bora pops, I know where we are. What I want to know is where do we dock?"

"We heard stories," another unnamed penguin spoke up, "of sailors that sells penguins to zoos."

"Zoos! I not going to no zoo!" Rocko paced around.

"I, for one, agree," Cynthia said trying not to get seasick from the swaying of the ship.

"I can't go to the zoo," Hubie complained. "I have to get back to Antarctica."

"Who's with me? Who's for busting out of here?" Rocko said. None of the penguins answered, for they were too scared of the humans to do anything.

"We need to get out of here," Max whispered to Cynthia and PJ.

"Yeah, but first we need to get the gummi block," the keyblader pointed toward Hubie. She looked over where Hubie was sitting and saw that the gummi block started to glow a bright green. "Hubie, what happened?" Cynthia yelled as she, Max, and PJ went over to inspect to block.

"I don't know…," Hubie said honestly. "I just thought of Marina and the pebble started to glow."

Suddenly an image of a female penguin with a flower in her hair and a purple broach around her neck appeared on the surface of the block.

"Wow," PJ simply stated. "Is that Marina?"

Hubie nodded and stared fixated at the block.

"How is this possible?" Cynthia asked Max. "Gummi blocks can't do that, can they?"

Max just shrugged without taking his eyes off the image. "If I learned anything from this journey, it's that anything is possible."

The image on the gummi block seemed to grow and soon it engulfed the group by a shared vision surrounding them like a hologram. Images and sounds of Antarctica appeared before them as if they were really there.

"_Marina, Hubie's gone. Face it," one of the many female penguins surrounding Marina said. "Why don't you marry Drake?"_

"_No Priscilla," Marina answered. "I believe that Hubie is still out there and he will come home to me in time for the full moon mating ceremony."_

"_You seriously want to marry him?" one her friends said in shock._

"_Why do you want to marry a wimp like Hubie over a hunk like Drake?" another one of her friends asked._

"_Hubie's a sweetheart," Marina said proudly, "He's generous and kind, always thoughtful of others…"_

_Drake appearing before them interrupted Marina's thoughts. He presented the smoothest, round pebble he could find to the female penguins. "Good morning ladies," he said as if he dipped his tongue in honey. All of Marina's friends cooed and fainted with joy, glad that such a hunk like Drake would talk to them. The buff penguin then went over to Marina and placed the pebble in her hand. "Marina, my pet," he began. "I want you to be my mate."_

_Marina just tossed the pebble away and distanced herself from the male penguin. "Drake I can't, I love Hubie."_

"_Hubie?" Drake laughed a little. "I deeply sympathized with you, Marina," he said in a faux sympathetic tone, "but since he is no where to be found, I offer my own hand." He placed another pebble in Marina's hands but she rejected it._

"_The answer is still no."_

"_Think about it," Drake said getting up. "Give me your answer later, but remember you must choose a mate before the full moon mating ceremony or well…" He swirl his red cape around for dramatic effect, "You will have to be banished. I'm sorry, but that's the law."_

The vision started to fade and the group was forced to face the cold reality that they were trapped in a ship.

"I just got ten days to get back home before the full moon ceremony," Hubie said to no one in particular.

Cynthia felt bad for the penguin and wished there was a way to help the poor guy. "I'll tell you what Hubie," the keyblader began, "I will help you brake out of here and return you to your girlfriend. But you have to do something for us."

"Anything," Hubie said desperately.

"After you propose to Marina you must give us the 'pebble.' It's very important to us and we need it." Hubie nodded and Cynthia used her keyblade to unlock the cage.

"Hey, how did you do that?" Rocko demanded. "Use that key-thing of yours to unlock my cage!"

"Should we trust him?" Max asked.

"Well, he would be a brilliant diversion," Cynthia said as she tapped the cage with her keyblade.

The cage opened and Rocko jumped out ready for some action. "Now when we get on deck, it's every man for himself," he said as he made his way to the trapdoor. When the rockhopper opened the door, the wind and rain almost knocked them back down the brig. The group quickly waddle their across deck hoping not to be seen by any of the humans.

They were halfway across the deck when one of the sailors spotted them. "Some of the animals escaped!" one yelled. "Quick, grabbed them!" said another. All of them dodged the humans and quickly jumped into the stormy sea.

"Which way we go now?" Hubie asked as they were trying to distance themselves from the ship.

Cynthia personally had no clue, but she look over and saw Rocko swimming away like there is no tomorrow. "Let's follow Rocko," she said. "He seems to know where he is going." The group nodded and swam off to the rockhopper.

"You guys could stop following me, you're on your own now," Rocko complained.

"But we need help getting back to Antarctica," PJ said.

"Here's a hint for you: GO SOUTH!"

"Then point us in the right direction," Cynthia demanded.

"Find it yourself!" Rocko yelled back. This banter between Rocko and the group went back and forth until early next morning.

**KH-KH-KH**

The sun rose early next morning, shinning away as if it was going out of style. Cynthia awoke to find herself on a tropical island and was thankful for the warm climate; however, she looked over and saw Hubie sweating like a pig since he was not use to warm weather.

"Where are we?" Hubie asked almost out of breath as he fanned himself.

"Judging by the location, the heat, and the scenery, I say we are on a private beach in Tahiti," Rocko said as he wiped some seaweed off him.

"I wonder how far it is to Antarctica?"

"About a couple of thousands of miles in that direction," Rocko said without sympathy. "But you guys won't make it in time since you don't know these waters like I do. You guys have 'eat me' written all over you. I give you two days before you wind up in the belly of the killer whale."

"But we have to get back to Antarctica," Hubie pleaded. "I have to give this to Marina," Hubie showed Rocko the gummi block and the rockhopper just rolled his eyes. "My only dream now is to get Marina to marry me."

"Why do you always have to gush when you talk about your girlfriend?" Rocko shook his head and started to leave.

"Oh come on Rocko," PJ pleaded. "Help us out so Hubie's dream can come true. You have a dream, do you?"

"Of course I have a dream," Rocko spat. "But I'm not going to tell you."

"We promise not to laugh," Hubie said wanting to know the rockhopper's dream. "You can trust us."

"Trust you? I don't even know you guys!"

"Come on, spill it," Cynthia urged.

"Alright, alright," Rock gave in. The penguin then pointed to a seagull soaring in the sky. "Right there; you are looking at it."

At first, everyone was confused, but then it slowly dawn on them that Rocko's dream was to fly. Envisioning Rocko flying across the sky was too hilarious for the group to handle so they all burst out laughing.

"You guys said you wouldn't laugh," Rocko fumed.

"But Rocko, everyone knows that penguins can't fly," Hubie said while unsuccessfully trying to contain his laughter.

"You're wrong!" Rocko shouted. "You are dead wrong; our ancestors flew! They gave us wings, but we can't fly? I mean, whose idea of a cruel joke is this?"

"I just thought you were going to say something more grandiose, like hopping to the top of Mount Everest," Hubie said buffing. "But flying? That's so easy."

Everyone cock an eyebrow up at Hubie, especially Rocko. "Is that so, who says?" the rockhopper demanded.

"Oh, uh Waldo," Hubie lied. It was only then when Cynthia realized that Hubie was lying to get Rocko to show them the way back to Antarctica. The keyblader said nothing wanting to see how this plays out.

"And this Waldo can really fly?" Rocko asked wanting reassurance. "He could teach me how to fly?"

"He could," Hubie shrugged, "but since you are not going to Antarctica…"

"I will tell you what pebble-brain; I will take you guys back to Antarctica by the next full moon if you will introduce me to this Waldo guy."

So, over the next few days the group swam as fast as they can so they can reach Antarctica in time. They encounter a few Heartless along the way: nothing major, just small fry. By the third day, a bad storm started to form and they had to take shelter on a small rocky island.

"Better rest up while you can," Rocko told the group. "With that storm coming in, we will be stranded here for a while."

"But we only got f-f-five more days," Hubie shuddered. "Shouldn't we c-c-c-continue anyways?"

"If you want to be toss violently to and fro by the sea, be my guest," the rockhopper said unsympathetically. "Hey, you three," he called to Cynthia, Max, and PJ. "Why are you helping old pebble-brain here? What's your cut in all of this?"

"Perhaps we believe in true love," Cynthia said sticking her tongue out.

The rockhopper just rolled his eyes. "Yeah right and I am the tooth fairy."

"You just wait and see Rocko," Hubie said, "if she accepts this pebble I will be the happiest guy alive."

"What do you mean 'if' she accepts the pebble? Are you telling me you are not sure she will accept the pebble?" Rocko laughed.

"She will accept it," Hubie said confidently.

"Who's knows, maybe she already married some other guy."

"No, my girl isn't like that," Hubie said trying to defend Marina's honor. "One look at this pebble and she will see that we are meant to be."

Rocko just rolled his eyes yet again. He couldn't believe the crap that he was hearing. "Just as long as I meet Waldo."

"Waldo?" Hubie said confused for a moment. "Of yes, Waldo… You see Rocko…I sorta lie to you about Waldo. I made him up so you can take us home. I h-h-h-hope you are not too mad at-"

Before Hubie could say another word, Rocko tackled him, pinned him on the ground, and started to choke him out. "You lied to me?" he yelled at the top of his voice. "You took advantage of my dream so you can be with a girl who may not marry you? Are you crazy?" Cynthia and Max tried to separate the two, but Rocko kept at it, even dragging the keyblader and the dog-teen into the fight. "Are you guys in on it too?"

"We didn't know that Hubie lied about Waldo," Max said trying to push the rockhopper off him.

"All of you are crazy, all of you are fanatical, all of you…," Rocko then burst out in laughter at the absurdity of it all. "Hubie, you are either the most love-sick penguin alive or the most stupid one I ever meet." The rockhopper picked himself up and slapped Hubie on the back. "You know what, forget it. I will take you back to Marina regardless."

"You mean you not mad at me anymore?" Hubie said hopefully.

"Of course I'm still mad at you. I just can stand to see someone as pathetic as you flail in the wind, that's all."

"Does this mean we're friends?"

"Don't get carried away," Rocko warned. "But I will take you under my wing and train you to fight."

"But I don't want to fight," Hubie said shocked. "I never fought in my life."

"But to get to Marina you will have to go through Drake," Cynthia reminded the penguin. "And I can guarantee you that he _will_ pick a fight with you when we return."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" PJ whispered into Cynthia's ear. "You saw how much darkness Drake had in his heart."

"I know, but this is Hubie's fight; not ours," the keyblader whispered back. "We can help Hubie along, but if we finish the fight for him it would be like messing with the world order."

"That's settles it then, you are now my student Hubie," Rocko said with his arms folded.

"And I will help too," Cynthia pitched in. "Remember Hubie, nothing is worth having unless it's worth fighting for."

**KH-KH-KH**

The days passed by and Rocko and Cynthia taught Hubie that it is not enough to love Marina, but if he want her hand in marriage he would have to fight for it. Hubie learned a lot from the two, but as the days started to pass them by he more anxious by the second. It was the day of the full moon ceremony and the group was only a few miles from home, but the trouble was that they were surrounded. Rocko was the first to spot them and told everyone to take shelter on a nearby iceberg.

"See that out there?" the rockhopper pointed toward the open ocean. Several killer whale Heartless breached the surface as if they were looking for their next meal. "Those are killer whales, twice as mean as any leopard seal."

"Strangest killer whales I ever seen," Hubie commented as he gulped real hard.

"That's because they are Heartless," Cynthia spoke softly. She was careful not to summon her keyblade in fear that it would attract the Heartless. To the untrained eye, the Heartless looked like a normal pod of orcas, but the Heartless was about two times bigger than a normal orca. The creatures' monochrome patterns were inverse and the Heartless symbol was on their dorsal fins. The pod of orca Heartless circled around the iceberg as if they were trying to find them.

Hubie peeked over the edge to see if the Heartless were leaving, but as he was doing that he accidentally dropped the gummi block into the water.

"Oh hell no," Cynthia cursed as she summoned her keyblade knowing the only way she could leave this world is with that gummi block.

The Heartless immediately sensed her keyblade and started homing in on the iceberg. Both Hubie and Cynthia jumped into the cold, dark water to search for the gummi block.

"Forget about the blasted pebble," Rocko pleaded. "There will be other pebbles. Right now we need to get the heck out of here!"

"Trust me, we really would love to, but we need that gummi block," Max said as he and PJ jumped in the water.

Rocko groan in aggravation and paced around for a few moments. Against his better judgment, he jumped in the water after the group.

Deep within the waters, the Heartless was closing in on the group and fast. Cynthia gestured to Hubie to get the gummi block while she dealt with the Heartless. Hubie nodded and journeyed into deeper waters. The Heartless quickly surrounded Cynthia and tried to attack from all sides, but the keyblader charged up her weapon and performed a spinning blade attack pushing the creatures of darkness back. She was feeling good about herself when one of the Heartless came from behind her and rammed into her. The keyblader's vision was growing dark and she was scared out of her mind as she watched the Heartless slowly circle above her head. As she was passing out, she could have sworn she saw PJ rushing over to her.

Darkness enveloped the keyblader and being in the water gave her a feeling of freefall. It was like she was paralyzed and Cynthia hated it. She desperately tried to move her body but to no avail. She was about to give up when she heard PJ's voice pierced through the darkness.

"**REGEN!**"

Cynthia slowly felt her strength coming back to her bit by bit. Slowly the darkness around her started to fade and she became conscious again. She looked over and saw PJ supporting her weight. "PJ…," she began.

"Don't talk, save your strength," PJ said concerned. "_Regen_ is not as effective as _Curaga_ but it gets the job done. The only problem is, is that it takes a while to come into effect."

"Where's Max?"

"Fighting the Heartless."

Cynthia looked up and saw Max and Rocko standing toe to toe with the Heartless. Max was using impressive techniques with his sword while Rocko kept the creatures at bay with his fists. The keyblader took two huge, deep breaths to gather up all of her strength so she could swim on her own. "Come on, PJ. We got work to do."

Both PJ and Cynthia rushed up to help Max and Rocko. By the time they arrived to the fight three of the Heartless were destroyed already. Cynthia destroyed another one, while PJ was busy casting _Old_ on the enemies.

There were only two Heartless left when Hubie showed up holding the gummi block in his hands. Cynthia inwardly rejoiced glad to see Hubie and the gummi block safe. Her celebration was short-lived for out of the darkness of the ocean more Heartless appeared. Every sea roaming Heartless you can think of was appearing out of the woodwork and was charging straight toward them.

"You guys get to safety, I will distract them," Rocko bravely said even though he was sacred out of his mind.

"You don't have to do that," Cynthia said. "We can take them."

"No, Hubie only has a few hours left. Make sure he gets to Marina on time." The rockhopper charged the horde with full force as the others swam for shore only looking back once to see Rocko's image faded away in the inky void.

The group was all panting by the time they reach the shore. Cynthia looked up on the small island that they were on and saw a mountain suspiciously shaped like an owl with the opening of the cave on top shaped like a giant maw.

"This is Drake's hideout," Hubie said in a low voice. He looked back at the ocean and searched for any signs of Rocko. "Do you think Rocko is okay?" he asked.

"I'm sure he's fine," Cynthia said but wasn't sure herself. "But right now they have to concentrate on finding Marina."

"You're right," Hubie nodded with confidence. "Let's do this thing."

**KH-KH-KH**

Deep within Drake's hideout, the muscular penguins crackled an evil laugh as he held Marina hostage. "As I said before, my pretty," he hissed. "I refused to lose!"

Drake grabbed Marina's arm and she struggled to get free. "Stop, you're hurting me!"

"Then marry me or be banished!"

"Get your filthy flipper off of my girl!" Drake's laughter stopped as he turned around and saw Hubie along with Cynthia, Max, and PJ standing at the opening of the cave.

"Hubie!" Marina rejoiced at the sight of her savior.

Drake however was completely dumbfounded. "Hubie," he said at last. "We thought you were dead, but soon you wish that you were."

Drake charged at Hubie knocking the smaller into a nearby wall. Hubie staggered a little, but got back up his feet and charged to attack Drake again. Despite Hubie's determination to save Marina, Drake was too quick and stronger than him. At every opportunity, Drake pounded the poor penguin sadistically.

"We got to help him," Max said as Hubie went down for the ninth time.

"I know, but we can't interfere with the world order," Cynthia with her head down. "Still, there must be a way."

"Well if we can't help Hubie directly, maybe we can help him indirectly?" PJ asked worrying that what he just said was dumb.

"PJ, you're a genius!" the keyblader praised. "We cannot fight Hubie's fight, but we can improve his attributes!" Cynthia's mind raced to formulate a plan. "First thing first. PJ cast _Regen_ quickly!" PJ obeyed and hastily cast the spell. Four shards of green light surrounded and entered Hubie. Almost immediately, the spell took effect and the penguin was slowly regaining his strength. Cynthia nodded in jubilation, now was the time to activate phase two of her plan. "Now cast _Haste_!" PJ cast the spell and the keyblader summoned up her own power to add to the mix. "_**Symphonic Rewrite: Wellspring!**_" Using her own unique power Cynthia was able to rewrite the Haste spell so it can double Hubie's attack and defense power as well as his speed.

Hubie never felt better in his life, he felt as if he could take on ten Drakes. As Drake charge at him, Hubie kicked him in the face and punched him in the gut. Drake doubled over having the wind knock right out of him; he couldn't believe that Hubie was beating him. Hubie unleashed one last kick and knock Drake down the deepest chasm in the cave.

"Hubie, you did it!" Marina rejoiced as she embraced the penguin.

"Way to go, Hubie. You kicked his butt," Cynthia, Max, and PJ applauded.

"Nice fight pebble-brain," everyone looked back and saw Rocko with a smug look on his face.

"Rocko, you're alive?" Hubie said with joy.

"Of course I alive," the rockhopper sniffed. "It will take more than shark bait to get rid of Rocko the Rockhopper."

"It looks like a happy ending after all," PJ said with tears in eyes.

The ground beneath them began to shake and a large fissure spit the floor into two. Dark vapors started to rise and a massive Heartless came out of it.

"So much for the happy ending," Max grumbled as he readied this sword.

"What is that?" Hubie asked in bewilderment as he held Marina close to protect her.

"My guess is that's Drake," Cynthia said as she ran toward the monster. "He gave himself over to the darkness."

The Heartless resembled a western dragon with small wings, but had black and white feathers all over it. The Heartless insignia displayed proudly on its chest. The creature gave a ghastly shriek and started to rampage around the cage causing the mountain to slowly collapse. Unfortunately for the creature, a huge chuck of the mountain fell off and landed on top of Heartless destroying it.

Everyone was relieved that the creature was destroyed, but now they had to worry about getting off the mountain. The floor beneath gave way and the group was falling to their deaths hundreds of feet in the air. Each one of them thought they were doom, then Rocko felt a great strength rise up within him. He grabbed everybody and slowly they stopped in midair.

It was only when they made their ascend that Rocko realized what he was doing. "I'm flying," he said. "I'm flying!" The rockhopper carried them all the way back to the penguin rookery.

A crowd of penguins gathered around the group when they landed and celebrated the return of Hubie and Marina. It was at this moment, Hubie made his move. He got on one knee, presented Marina the gummi block, and said, "Marina, will you do me the honor of being my mate?"

Marina's eyes filled with tears of joy. "Of course Hubie, I have been waiting for you to ask me for a long time. But don't you know? What matters is the penguin, not the pebble; I love you even more." She tossed the gummi block aside and kissed Hubie.

"Are you crying?" Max said as he looked over to Cynthia.

"Screw you! I'm a girl, I like sappy stuff like this, okay?" the keyblader wept as she blew her nose.

"I got the gummi block!" PJ said as he held up the discard block.

Cynthia nodded and was about to retrieve it when both Hubie and Marina started to glow. The two penguins turned into a golden keyhole filled with light. "I guess that means I get to lock this world after all," she said as she summoned her keyblade. She locked the world and the keyhole reverted back into the forms of Marina and Hubie.

"What just happened?" Marina inquired. "It was beautiful, like something from a far-off dream."

"Just know that the Heartless and other monsters won't bother you anymore," Cynthia said. "Well, it's been fun, but we have to get going." Cynthia, Max, and PJ said goodbye to their newfound friends and headed back to their gummi ship with the missing block that they needed.

**KH-KH-KH**

"I don't think so," said a man in his mid-to-late thirties with a husky built. "If you excuse me I have to look for job; a real job."

"Why do you refuse my offer?" said another figure. "Can't you see what my organization could do for you, Matt Parkman?"

"I refused your offer because I don't trust you." There is a reason why Matt didn't trust the other person; it was because the other person was a big rat. No seriously, the other person was a huge anthropomorphic rat. "Listen you-"

"The name's Robert," the rat said. Robert was a very tall rat; around six foot seven and can easily tower over many humans. To say he was skinny is an understatement for his wiry frame looked like he could break in two at any moment. However, just because he was thin doesn't mean he isn't strong; in fight he could definitely hold his own. He wore small, yet thick spectacles that rested snugly on his snout, which gave him the look of a watchmaker. Robert wore a long black leather coat with a dress shirt underneath. On his hands were white gloves, he had on black pants with black boots on. His whole appearance was oddly reminiscent of Master Xehanort.

"Well Robert," Matt continued. "I don't want to get involve with whatever it is that you're planning. So just leave me alone." The former cop was about to turn to leave the alley when Robert stopped him.

"What I am offering you is a chance to obtain a power so great that you can defeat Sylar. This is your chance to be a hero Matt. And maybe the Los Angeles Police Department will be so impressed that they will reinstate you." This offer was tempting to Matt since he was now out of a job, and only because he used that blasted curse of his; mind reading. "They kick you out because they thought you were a fraud. They thought it was silly to think that someone could actually read minds, but we know better, do we? We both know that there are some people in this world with special powers and unfortunately Sylar is one of them."

"And you want to give me untold power out of the goodness of heart?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"For the good of the world," Robert corrected him. "I know it's hard to trust someone who looks like me, but think of all the good you can do with this power." The offer was just too good to be true for Matt, so he did the one thing he does when he's not sure of something; try to read someone else's thoughts. Using his powers was still a new experience for the former cop, but after a little pushing, he was able to read the rat's thoughts. _'I hope he says yes,'_ Robert thought. _'Sylar is a menace that must be stop. He knows how many people Sylar has killed. If he had a brain he will take this power and use it so we can find this creep!'_

Matt was taken aback; the rat actually meant what he said. However, he was still a bit cautious, "What's the catch?"

"To make sure Sylar never harms anyone again," Robert said as he summoned a dark keyblade. "So, do we have a deal?"

Matt Parkman was hesitant for a moment before arriving to a decision. "What do I have to do?"

"Place your hand on the hilt of this blade and I will give you the most powerful weapon in the known universe: the keyblade!"

Matt slowly stretched out his hand and placed it on the hilt. As soon as he done that, he felt a surge of power flow into him.

"That was the easy part," Robert said with a twisted smile.

The ex-cop doubled over in pain as he felt something squeeze his heart. His vision became burly and he was having a hard time speaking or forming coherent thoughts. "W-what's….happening….t-t-t-t-to me?…"

"Funny you should ask," Robert began. "This is a test to see if you and your heart could handle unadulterated darkness."

"You….you…tricked…me…"

"It wasn't hard to do. All I had to do is make sure I wasn't thinking any thoughts that would hinder your decision about accepting this power."

There was nothing else Matt could do. He collapsed on the ground and passed out.

"It's a shame…," the rat said with a sigh. "I had high hopes for you." Robert slowly lifted up his keyblade right over Matt. "Now it's time to dispose of you." Before he could drop his keyblade, dark spirals became to form around Matt's right hand. "Hello, what is this?" Robert said with curiosity. The spirals became larger and soon formed into a very impressive keyblade. "A keyblade…" The rat bent down and examined the ex-cop's new weapon. "…And it's from the dark realm. It looks like you are useful to us after all Matt Parkman." Robert then pulled out a small, metal device from his coat pocket and placed it over Matt's heart. The machine hatched onto the human and randomly started spewing out numbers.

"Are you its wise to recruit a cop for Master Xehanort?" a voice from behind Robert said. "I mean, he is not even a dirty cop."

Robert didn't need to turn around to see whom the voice belong to. "Not now Nerela. I'm busy. Furthermore, you are one to talk about trust. I don't even think the master trust you since your Nobody betrayed Organization XIII."

"God, I love it when people say my name now," Nerela said with a wicked smile. "I personally hated when people called me Larxene when I was a Nobody. Though, I must admit, I miss not having a heart." Nerela still had short blonde hair with two veins shaped like antennae at the front of her head. She was dress a lot like Robert, but she wore a short shirt and high-heel boots. "You should have let him become a Heartless," she continued.

"And if I had done that we would have had a mind-reading Heartless on the loose," Robert protested. "Besides, he was able to form a dark keyblade. He's qualified to become one of Master Xehanort's sleeper agents. We must use heroes to make our sleeper cells so Sora and his keybladers friends won't suspect a thing." The machine attached to Matt turned itself off and Robert snatched up the device and put it back in his pocket. "There. When he wakes up, he won't remember a thing. He won't be able to access his keyblade or the dark powers we gave him until we active him."

"I wish Xehanort would hurry up with the plan already," Nerela said impatiently. "I want to go another round with Sora. And this time, I won't lose." She summoned a dark keyblade that was reminiscent of a giant butcher knife. The woman smiled at her new weapon. "This time there will be hell to pay!"

"Patience Nerela, patience," Robert chided. "The master is just waiting for the right time to spring his trap. Besides, he still has to train his new protégé."

**Next Chapter: We are Family**

**P.J.'s Blog Updated!**

Yen Sid: The Sorcerer's Apprentice(1940)

Hubie: The Pebble and the Penguin(1995)

Marina: The Pebble and the Penguin(1995)

Rocko the Rockhopper: The Pebble and the Penguin(1995)

Drake: The Pebble and the Penguin(1995)

Matt Parkman: Heroes(2006)

Robert (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Nerela: Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom _Although, technically she first appeared as Larxene in "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories"_

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this story. I will try to have the next chapter posted by Christmas.**


	20. We Are Family

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 19: We are Family**

The Heart of Gold sped along the inky darkness of inter-space, as quiet as it can be, as it was slowly approaching its next target. Inside the cabin, Trevor paced up and down like an expecting father, his mind racing over what Mirage had told him a few minutes ago.

"Trevor, calm down," Miranda chided trying to stop the keyblader from pacing. "Let's just think about this for a moment."

"We don't have time to think," Trevor rebutted. The keyblader suddenly felt overwhelm and had to sit down. "A few weeks ago I was sure that I was born in _The City of Lost Angels_, but now… Now I am certain that I was born on _The Land of Still Meadows_. I also remember where I first saw Baloo, Louie, Bagheera, and Shere Khan; the world was called the _Ivory Jungle_." The keyblader thought for a minute and came up with an idea. "Eddie, you know almost every world in existence right? Well, search for the Ivory Jungle."

The computer complied and rapidly searched its data banks. The program turned up empty, but found two data entries that was somewhat related to the search. "Sorry gang, but the only thing I could find was the world _Deep Jungle_ and another world called _Ivory Heights_."

"Does that mean…," Trevor said under his breath, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?" Miranda inquired.

"What if the Forsaken are right? What if some of the worlds been vastly altered from their original state? It would explain why I remember seeing Baloo on one world and then seeing a slightly altered version of him in another. It would also explain why Eddie can't find worlds like _The Land of Still Meadows_ and _Ivory Jungle_."

Miranda was shocked that the keyblader would say such things. She rushed over pinned Trevor in his chair. "Trevor," she began, "you do realize you are agreeing with the Forsaken. A bunch of people who want to destroy certain worlds because they don't fit in their world view."

"I'm not agreeing with them," Trevor defended himself. "I just saying if what they are saying about the universe is true, that some worlds has been replaced by others. If so, then we must find a way to bring back the original world without destroying the shadow world. So both shadow and original world can coexist in harmony."

"And how we are going to do that?" Bonkers inquired.

"I don't know," Trevor admitted. "But there must be a better way; a way better then my brother's."

Their conversation was interrupted by Eddie who gushed with glee with a series of clicks and whistles. "We arrived at our destination, gang!" it buzzed with excitement. "Welcome to _Retro City_!" The computer screen displayed a large world is which half of it was covered in tall skyscrapers and suburbs. The buildings stood proudly, especially the older buildings, which gave off a faint golden glow that has left over from some bygone era. The other half of the world is covered by the deepest blue ocean you could imagine. Right in the middle of the ocean was a volcanic island enveloped by the lushest green vegetation this side of the universe has ever seen.

"Wow," was all that Miranda said.

"It's kind of like The City of Lost Angels," Trevor reminisced. "Where do you think we should land?"

Low and behold, coincidence of all coincidences, Eddie said that they are being hail by Mirage. Mirage's beautiful face appeared on the screen appeared on the screen, ready to give them instructions. "Hello keyblader and friends," she said in a smooth and silky voice. "In case if you are wondering, your assignment is on the tropical island."

"Sweet," Bonkers said as he took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. "We could go for a swim in crystal-clear waters, make sandcastles, work on our tans…"

"I'm afraid this is not a holiday," Mirage interrupted trying to smile a little.

"So what's the job?" Trevor asked.

"I will explain it to you, the moment we have finish teleporting you."

"What?" Trevor said before noticing his hands was starting to vanish. He looked over and saw that Bonkers and Miranda was beginning to vanish as well.

"Don't fight it," Mirage tried to comfort them. "The tingling sensation will be over in a few seconds."

**KH-KH-KH**

On the volcanic island, Mirage was in a top-secret base tapping her foot as scientists rushed around her flipping switches and pushing button. At the center of the room was an elevated platform with several coils of wire humming away like there is no tomorrow.

"How hard is it to teleport two humans and a cartoon?" Mirage said impatiently. "It's been over a minute, they should have materialized by now."

"Do you know how hard it is to teleport somebody?" one of the scientists complained. "Do you even have a clue how much energy it takes to do this? They will be here; this is new technology we are diving into."

"It's new to our world, but it has been around other worlds for quite some time."

"I don't care," the scientist said exasperated. "The point is that _we_ are new to this technology. Just let us do our jobs and we will figure it out."

In time, the coils of wire on the platform began to glow a bright blue and the humming started to get louder. In one of the coils, Trevor slowly started to fade into existence with Miranda and Bonkers following suit in the other coils. Once they have fully materialized and the machine cut off, the three collapsed due to lightheadedness and exhaustion.

One of the scientists ran over to them and starting putting salted peanuts in their mouths. "Here eat this," he said to them. "Your body needs the salt after a 'jump' like that."

After a few moments, (and a few bags of peanuts) Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers slowly got on their feet and came face to face with Mirage. "My home world…," Trevor began, "You said you have information about my home world."

"All in due time," the platinum-blonde woman promised. "Now follow me."

The trio followed the woman through endless corridors of the base. With each step, they felt their strength returning. When they were walking through the ninth hallway they have been to, Trevor finally decided to ask something. "So this base is on a volcano? Why is that?"

"My boss is attractive to power and the dichotomy of all things," Mirage said looking over her shoulder with a smile.

"Sounds unstable," Miranda commented.

"Not at all," the platinum-blonde began, "Just look out there," she gestured toward the expansive window that covered one side of the long hallway. Gazing out the window one could see most of the island and all the beautiful sights that only Mother Nature could provide. "Do you see how beautiful and how green everything is outside? Volcanic soil is the most fertile soil on earth. Sure volcanoes can destroy, but they can also create. Destruction and creation goes hand in hand; one cannot exist without the other. Trevor, as a keyblader you should already know this. Same way as light cannot exist without the darkness, life and creation cannot exist without death and destruction."

The conversion ended on that somber note and the group walked on in silence. Finally, they came to the end of the hallway where there were two red double doors. "You will wait in there," Mirage told them. "The two other heroes that you three will be working with are already in the room. My boss will be with you shortly." She walked away, back into unknown parts of the base, leaving the trio somewhat clueless.

"Do you think we can trust her?" Miranda asked.

"Well, we're here now, we might as well," Trevor said as he opened one of the doors. They walked into a large conference room with a long table over ten feet in length and at least a dozen chair. There were two other people in the room; one a man in his early forties wearing a red and black costume as if he was some kind of superhero and the other was a man in his late twenties dressed all in black and carrying a ridiculously huge sword.

"Looks like we got company, Cloud," the man in the costume said.

"Hmm," was all that Cloud said without looking up once.

"Uh, … hi," Miranda said somewhat confused by this surprisingly awkward moment.

"Well, I'm Trevor, this is Miranda, and over here is Bonkers," the keyblader introduced themselves.

"I'm Mr. Incredible," the man said, "and over there moping like some goth kid is Cloud."

Cloud didn't do anything; he just sat there completely absorbed in his thoughts.

"So," Mr. Incredible continued, "Mirage did say that Cloud and I will get new partners. I take it that's you guys."

"Yes," Trevor said cautiously, "but why do they call you Mr. Incredible?"

"Well, it's because I'm a superhero," the man with pride.

Bonkers' eyes grew larger; he couldn't believe he was in the presence of such greatness. "Awesome possum! A real live super hero!"

"So Mr. Incredible, Cloud," Miranda said wanting to get to the heart of the matter. "What kind of work do we do around here?"

Before anyone could explain, the walls around them collapsed and several mechanical tentacles grabbed them all and tossed them into the jungle.

"IT'S BIGGER!" said an announcer voice coming from nowhere.

All of the heroes desperately tried to fight off the tentacles, but they were caught so off guard that they didn't know what they were attacking.

"IT'S BADDER!" the voice continued. Suddenly, it's made clear what was attacking them when the main body came out of the jungle thicket. The machine had a black spherical body with dozens of tentacles coming out of it. Its red scanner that it used as eyes focus on them coldly, predicting their every move. It launched its tentacles at every hero and pinned them all down to the ground. It then covert its claws on its remaining limbs into circular saws threating to decapitate them.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IT'S TOO MUCH FOR MR. INCREDIBLE, CLOUD, AND TREVOR TO HANDLE!"

"I'm getting sick of that voice," Trevor muttered under his breath trying to think a way out of this predicament.

"Whoa, whoa; time-out. It's finally ready," suddenly a man with red hair sticking up like a troll doll and wearing a black spandex suit with the letter 'S' on it, come down from the sky using his jet boots. When the man landed, he pushed a button on his wrist control pad and the robot immediately let go of its captors and rolled back into the deepest parts of the jungle. "I had to go through a number of supers to get this machine worthy enough to fight you guys, but it was worth it. Especially for you Mr. Incredible; after all, I'm your biggest fan."

At first, no one was sure what the strange man was talking about, and then slowly Mr. Incredible started to remember. "Buddy?…"

"The name's not Buddy!" the man yelled, "and it's not Incredi-boy either; that ship has sailed. All I wanted was to help you. And what did you say to me? _'Fly home, Buddy; I work alone.'_ It torn me apart, but I have learn an important lesson: you can't count on anyone."

"Could someone explain what going on here?" Trevor said struggling to get up. "I hate to be left in the dark."

"Ah, the keyblader and his band of losers," the man finally acknowledged the young man. "Well, it's a long story, but basically when I was a kid I wanted nothing more than to be that man's sidekick," he pointed to Mr. Incredible. "But he refused and crushed my dreams. But that's okay, because I learned an important life lesson, and so I became Syndrome! The only super villain who-"

As the man continued monologue-ing, the group of heroes starting drawing closer to the big boulder that's behind them. "Do you guys have any powers?" the superhero whispered to Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers.

"Bonkers and I can cast magic and Miranda is a swordswoman," the keyblader whispered back.

"-and that's when I realized that I can get rich by selling weapons to countries-" Syndrome continued to monologue, unaware of the heroes' actions.

"When I say go," Mr. Incredible whispered, "I will throw this boulder at him while Trevor and Bonkers create a distraction. Miranda, you flank right while Cloud attacks from the left; got it?" Everyone nodded and waited for the signal.

"-but that was not enough, I wanted more power so I-"

"GO!" Mr. Incredible yelled as he tossed the boulder from behind him. Syndrome managed to dodge the boulder and tried to make his escape, but Trevor and Bonkers created a wall of fire to block his path. Then Miranda and Cloud rushed in with their swords ready. Before their attacks could connect, Syndrome used his jet boots and launched himself in the air and quickly fired two blue lasers from his hands and created a paralyzing force field around the heroes.

"You sly dogs," Syndrome chuckled. "You got me monologue-ing! Do you like the force field you're in? It's called zero-point energy; I always save the best inventions for myself. So tell me guys, am I good enough now?" Using the zero-point energy ray, he tossed the heroes into a nearby boulder. "Who's super now?" He reformed the force field and tossed them again. "I am Syndrome! You're nemesis-" Unfortunately for the super villain, he tossed the heroes a little too hard and the force field collapse hurling them across the jungle. Syndrome watch in disbelief as his captors fell out of sight. "Brilliant…," he cursed himself for being so stupid; so impulsive.

The team of heroes landed in a nearby river and quickly swam to shore. "That guy has a screw lose somewhere," Cloud spat once he caught his breath.

"We need to form a plan," Mr. Incredible said.

"No time for that, here he comes," Miranda pointed to the skyline. Sure enough, Syndrome was soaring across the sky and coming toward them fast.

Cloud looked around to see if they could get an advantage. He only saw one, a giant waterfall. "Everyone, jump!" As crazy as it was no one argued. Everyone took a short, deep breath and jumped off the base of the cliff before Syndrome could get to them.

Syndrome landed on the edge of the cliff just in time to see the heroes hit the water. He took out a small, but effective, bomb and tossed it over the waterfall. "Let's see how you like this, boys," he smiled to himself.

Lucky for the heroes the water below was deep. They crashed into it, plummeted into the depths a couple of feet, and was disoriented for a couple of seconds. As soon as they got their bearings, they noticed a small white flashing object drifting down in the water. They immediately knew what it was and began to swim toward an underwater cave. It didn't take long for the bomb to exploded causing tremendous shockwaves to blow them deeper into the cave. It was fortunate that they found a place where they can resurface and catch their breath. The heroes looked around and found themselves deep inside a cave with hardly any light. Bonkers cast a Fire spell to provide some illumination and discovered that the cave was full of skeletons.

Mr. Incredible bent down in front of one of the skeletons and recognized on the helmet on it. "This is Gazer Beam," he said silently. "He was a superhero from the old days. He had the power of laser vision."

Cloud looked on the wall opposite of the skeleton. "It looks like he was trying to write a message before he died." Everyone looked at where Cloud was looking and saw the word 'Kronos' blasted into the wall.

"'Kronos,'" Trevor said thoughtfully. "Like the titan Cronus or Saturn? What do you think it could mean?"

"It's possibly some sort of code," Cloud mused. "Some sort of key that will tell us what Syndrome is planning."

"I feel like such a heel," Trevor cursed himself. "And to think I believed Mirage when she told me that she had information about my past. It was all to lure us in a trap."

"She told me that she could help me find Sephiroth," Cloud said in a disgusted monotone.

"She actually promised that I can be a superhero again," Mr. Incredible spoke looking somewhat forlorn.

"I thought you were a superhero," Bonkers said hopefully.

"Well, technically it's illegal to be a superhero," Mr. Incredible explained. "Years ago the government pushed anti-superhero legislation to avoid possible lawsuits. I missed the glory days so much that I was too blind to see that this was a trap."

"What do we do now?" the cartoon asked while trying to maintain the Fire spell.

We find out what Syndrome is up to," the superhero said with a smile.

**KH-KH-KH**

On the other side of the world, a woman with red hair was walking down the stairs with a very short woman. The woman with red hair name is Helen Parr who happens to be the wife of Mr. Incredible. She was here to see the short woman, Edna Mode, a woman who once designed costumes for the superheroes of this world.

"My latest project has consumed my time completely," Edna said with accent that is a cross between Japanese and German. She quickly adjusted her oversized glasses and twirled her cigarette in her hand. "But I must say it's my finest work yet, much better than the work I'm forced to do in the fashion industry," she continued.

Helen was slightly confused and didn't know what the shorter woman was talking about. She only came to ask her a simple question. "Edna, please," she begged. "All I wanted to know is did you do a patch job for my husband's old costume. I wanted to know if Bob (Mr. Incredible's real name is Robert) is planning to do something he knows he shouldn't."

Edna, however, continued as if she hadn't heard a word Helen had said. "…it's simple, elegant, and yet _bold_! You would like it, I assure you. I did Robert's suit and I simply _had_ to continue!"

"Wait, you made Bob a new suit? I don't understand what you are talking about or-"

"You are right darling, words are too useless," Edna interrupted. "It would be better if I showed you my work. That is why you are here!"

They entered a sterilized room filled with complex machinery and computers. Needless to say, Helen was more confused than she was in the beginning. Edna motion her to something that seemed out of place in the room. Near one wall, on the far side of the room, was a small coffee table with two chairs and a tray with tea and sweet tarts. Edna motioned for Helen to sit down and pour her a cup of tea.

"I didn't know what powers your youngest son, Jack-Jack has, so I started with the basics," Edna began as she slipped her tea.

"The basics?…"

The wall aside of them opened up and revealed a window peering into another room. Then a small mannequin wearing a baby's superhero costume (similar looking to the one Mr. Incredible has on now) slowing started to crawl in the other room.

"I cut a little roomy for the free movement. The fabric is comfortable for sensitive skin." Then room the baby mannequin was in burst into flames. However, the mannequin and the suit were undamaged. "It can also withstand a temperature of over 1000 degrees. Completely bulletproof…," as soon as she said that, hundreds of machine-guns appeared and started firing at the mannequin. "And machine washable darling, that's a new feature," Edna said completely proud of her work.

Helen however, was completely disgusted and appalled. "What on earth do you think the baby will be doing?"

"Well, I'm sure I don't know darling. Luck favors the prepared. Like I said before, I didn't know the baby's powers, so I covered the basics."

"Jack-Jack doesn't have any powers," Helen said flatly.

"No?" the designer said somewhat surprised. "Well, he would look fabulous anyways." Another mannequin appeared, about the size of a young boy. It too was wearing a superhero suit. "Your oldest son suit I designed to withstand enormous friction without heating up or wearing out. A useful feature since he has super speed." Yet another mannequin wearing a suit appeared before them. This one was in the shape of a young teenage girl. "Your daughter's suit was tricky," Edna clicked her tongue. "But I finally created a sturdy material that will disappear completely as she does." Then the last suit appeared; this one appears to be for Helen. "Your suit can stretch as far as you can, without injuring yourself, and still retain its shape." To illustrate the point two machines started stretching the suit as far as it can. "Virtually indestructible…, yet it breathes like Egyptian cotton. Furthermore, as an extra feature, each suit contains a homing device, giving you the precise global location of the wearer at the touch of the button. Well darling, what do you think?"

Helen just shook her head in disbelief, "What do think? Bob is retired! I'm retired! Our family is underground. You helped my husband resume secret hero work behind my back?"

Edna was taken aback, "Well, I assumed you knew darling. Why would he keep secrets from you?"

"He wouldn't…didn't…doesn't," Helen managed to stammer out.

"Men at Robert's age are often unstable; prone to weakness."

"What are you saying?"

"Do you know where Robert is?"

"Of course-"

"Do you know where he is?"

Helen paused for a moment, a look of doubt spread across her face.

"So you don't know where he is. Would you like to find out?" she handed Helen the homing device.

Helen hesitantly took the device and stared at it. After a moment of deep thought, she pushed the button.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Cloud, Miranda, Mr. Incredible, and Bonkers snuck in Syndrome's base trying their best not to get caught. They had to take out a few guards and shut off a few alarms, but so far so good. Trevor's keyblade was a big help getting around in the base, with his powers he was able to unlock any secure area. The one hitch in their plan was the layout of the base; it was like a labyrinth. There were hallways that seem to end at nowhere, and empty rooms that serve no purpose; it was all too confusing. They finally reach a meeting room in the far end of the hideout. It was a nice and exotic room: a long table with chairs that can seat forty people, potted plants from all over the world, and a wall of molten lava pouring safely into a hidden trench.

"Another dead end," Cloud hissed under his breath.

"I don't think so," Trevor said staring at the wall of lava. He raised his keyblade in the air and fired a small ray of light. The lava started to part revealing a hidden passageway.

"Great job!" Mr. Incredible proclaim. "But how did you know there was a passage there?"

"I'm not sure," the keyblader said truthfully. "I just felt something…off about the lava.

They entered the secret passageway and was lead to a long narrow walkway that seemed to hover above an abyss. At the end of the walkway was a console with a keyword. Mr. Incredible sat in the chair in front of the console and hit the enter key. Like magic, a visual display appeared before so large that it was the size of a small building. The words 'ENTER PASSWORD' flashed on the display.

"Try Kronos," Cloud suggested.

The superhero nodded and typed it in. The computer system accepted the password and displayed a menu, which contained the items: _Island Operations_, _Finances_, _Omnidroid Metatraining_, _Supers_, _Naraku and the Inter-Circle_, and _Jenova Project_.

Trevor's eyes widened when he saw one option. "Quick, select Naraku and the Inter-Circle!"

The superhero did what Trevor suggested and selected the option. Several pictures of the members of Naraku's group appeared on the display; now they knew what the villain looked like.

"So that's the demon Naraku," Miranda said as she stared fixated on the group leader's photo. The photo showed a man with flowing dark hair and piercing eyes like hellfire.

Next to Naraku's photo was a photo of Light Yagami and under both photos was the words 'Extremely Dangerous.' There were other photos of the members of the inter-circle, including Syndrome's. Nearly all of the villains they face on their journey were in this database, all from Yzma to Don Karnaģe. Everyone of those photos were half transparent with the word 'defected' written across of it (with the exception of Negaduck's photo, which had a red 'X' over it and the word 'decease').

"It looks like everyone leaving Naraku's group including Syndrome," Trevor said in relief. "Good. I guess even evil people don't like to align themselves with demons."

"That means the only people we have to worry about is Naraku himself, Light Yagami, and the Forsaken," Miranda deduced.

"What about that guy? We haven't fought him yet," the cartoon bobcat said pointing to a picture of a man wearing a dragon's skull.

Trevor read the man's name. "The Huntsmaster… It says here he has defected from the group and lives on a world called _The Big Apple_. We should go there once we finish here. Perhaps we could get some more information out of this Huntsmaster."

Miranda nodded then looked back on the display and noticed something strange. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized what it was. "Trevor, there's information on the Forsaken!"

"Where," the keyblader said almost had the mind to knock Mr. Incredible out of his seat so he can get to the information faster.

"Under 'Known Enemies,' look!"

Sure enough, there was a link that read: 'Known Enemies: the Forsaken.'

Mr. Incredible clicked on the link and various pictures pop up, including a photo of Trevor's brother Zackary. Trevor then took the keyboard from Mr. Incredible and selected the photo of the brother. Information started to pour on the display:

_Name: Zackary Birch (one of the three founding members of the Forsaken)_

_Age: late 20's_

_Species: Human_

_Origin: claims to be from a world called The Land of Still Meadows_

_Known Weapons: Keyblade_

_Mission: unknown_

_Location: unknown_

Before Trevor could act, a photo of a woman he never seen before popped up, and her entry read:

_Name: Jessica Rabbit (one of the three founding members of the Forsaken)_

_Age: unknown_

_Species: Cartoon_

_Origin: claims to be from a world called Big City Noir_

_Known Weapons: unknown_

_Mission: unknown_

_Location: unknown_

Yet another entry appeared and a familiar face popped up:

_Name: Bagheera (one of the three founding members of the Forsaken)_

_Age: unknown_

_Species: Black Panther_

_Origin: claims to be from a world called Ivory Jungle_

_Known Weapons: Rapier, False Keyblade_

_Mission: unknown_

_Status: decease_

"The founding members of your brother's group," Bonkers stated the obvious with his mouth open in disbelief.

Trevor ignored Bonkers' statement and went over the database and check to see if there are any more members of the Forsaken. There was only one other entry. A photo of a green dragon appeared on the display. Despite being a dragon, his photo was the most pleasant one they seen all day. While the other photos looked like mugshots, in this photo the dragon was smiling and giving a thumb's up. His data read as this:

_Name: Flicker_

_Age: unknown_

_Species: Anthropomorphic Western Dragon_

_Origin: claims to be from a world called Camelhot_

_Known Weapons: unknown_

_Mission: unknown_

_Location: last seen on the world The Big Apple_

"This is it!" Trevor rejoiced. "This is most of the information we have been looking for! We are one step ahead of the Forsaken."

"My turn," Cloud took the keyboard from Trevor. "I want to check something out."

Cloud return to the main menu and selected a file called: The Jenova Project. Several files appeared along with several photos of Sephiroth.

"It can't be," Cloud said under his breath. "Surely he's not foolish enough…"

Miranda started reading the text:

"…_Using DNA samples from both Sephiroth and the entity known as Jenova, we, with the help of a scientist named Hojo, have created three clones of the powerful swordsman Sephiroth. These clones, however, are imperfect and do not have Sephiroth's full power or his skill set. We suspect that if we inject more of Jenova's DNA in their bloodstream, they will be able to become complete and perfect clones of Sephiroth… To test the clones' strength, we have them fight warriors with unparallel strength; usually fighters from the world Radiant Garden…"_

A picture of a young man named Zack Fair appeared on the display with a word 'Terminated' over it. Other pictures appeared, each with a status: Caith Sith(survived, in intensive care), Red XIII(survived, but escaped), Barret Wallace(fled the battle, location unknown; assumed dead). The list goes on and on. Finally, Cloud's picture appeared: Cloud Strife(died before our test could begin)

"That monster…," Cloud cursed under his breath as his squeezed the keyboard.

He would have broken it in two if Mr. Incredible hadn't taken it away from him. "Let's see what Syndrome is planning for _this_ world," the superhero said as he went back to the main menu and selected _Supers_. A great number of superheroes' photos appeared on the display with the word 'Terminated' over their photos. Everyone looked on in horror as the photos kept popping up.

"Why is he killing all of the superheroes," Trevor thought out loud. "What could he possibly gain from that?"

"To build a better robot," Miranda said studying closer. "There's a picture of a different robot next to the photos of the superheroes. From the photos it looks like for every hero he has killed he made improvements on the robot."

"That would explain why he attacked us with a robot earlier," Cloud thought aloud. "He wanted to test if his latest robot was powerful enough."

"But what is his endgame?" Mr. Incredible said as he typed something on the keyboard. A picture of a superhero named Elastigirl appeared but her file said that her location was unknown. The aging superhero breathed a sigh of relief. While the others were confused.

"Elastigirl,…who is she?" the keyblader asked.

"She is my wife," as the superhero typed something else in. A photo another superhero, called Frozone, appeared and his location was known. Mr. Incredible clenched his fists at the thought that his best friend could be next on Syndrome's hit list. To find out more about the robots the super villain was building he clicked on one the pictures and a blueprint for the latest model appeared.

"The Omnidroid ver.10 Final Design," read Miranda, "A perfect hybrid of technology and the power of the Heartless." The blueprint showed a very menacing looking machine that was a perfect giant black sphere with the Heartless emblem on the front. The plans also indicate that the machine can produce any number of tentacles and weapons imaginable. "This final version of the Omnidroid is the key to Operation: Kronos. Phase 1: the Omnidroid is loaded into a rocket and launched into orbit. Phase 2: the rocket will come out of orbit, land in Retro City, and unleash the droid and activate it. Phase 3: the Omidroid will wreak havoc across city before it will be shut down by remote control."

"He plans to destroy the city," Bonkers stating the obvious yet again.

"Syndrome has been a busy boy," Trevor said with a grave look on his face.

Then a countdown appeared on the screen that read: _Project Kronos Countdown, 08 hours, 10 minutes, 41 seconds until launch_.

"We can't just sit around here," Trevor said, "We need to stop Syndrome."

They all raced along the walkway with renew determination. As they were about to leave, there was a sight bleeping coming from Mr. Incredible's emblem (This was, of course, because Helen, aka Elastigirl, activated the global tracking device). The dark room lit up and hundreds of machine guns jet out of the wall. Instead of firing bullet, the guns fired plastic balls that kept on expanding. The group tried to make their exit before getting caught, but the expanding plastic slowed them down. Soon the balls engulfed them and the last image that they saw was Mirage walking into the room with her hands on her hips.

**KH-KH-KH**

Several hours later, Helen Parr was flying a small plane over ocean trying to locate her husband. She still couldn't believe that her husband was doing secret hero work behind her back. _'When we get home, he's going to get an earfull,'_ she thought bitterly about Robert putting their family at risk for some cheap thrills.

She knew her husband was located on a small island and for the past ten minutes tried to get in contact with it. Helen thought about putting on the costume, that Edna given her, when she received no response. "Calm down, Helen," she reassure herself. "They are possibly out getting coffee….all at the same time." Her gut instinct was telling her something was off and it continued to nag her, giving her no peace of mind. Against her better judgment, she set the plane on autopilot, grabbed the suit, and went in the bathroom to change.

**KH-KH-KH**

Deep in the holding cells of Syndrome's base, our heroes were captured and trap in a strange device that suspends them above the ground with their hands and feet trapped in three metal balls. Mirage was in the corner monitoring the power output of the device, making sure it was enough to hold the prisoners.

If the heroes thought their day couldn't get any worse, Syndrome came in to gloat. "You sirs," the villain began, "are truly are incredible. I mean, I knew you guys were tough, but surviving that explosion, hacking into my computer's mainframe! I'm still geeking out over it! But then you guys had to ruin the party. I mean, Mr. Incredible calling for help, like some little girl? That is so lame! So tell me, who did you guys contact?"

"What are you talking about? We didn't contact anyone," Miranda said absolutely sick of Syndrome.

"Then why did we find a tracking chip on Mr. Incredible's suit? And why there's a small government plane asking for permission to land here?" Syndrome snapped his fingers and Mirage played the transmission.

Helen's voice filled the room and Mr. Incredible's heart filled with dread. "Helen…," he whispered in a state of complete shock.

"Oh, so you do know this people?" the villain said with a sadistic grin spread across his face. "Well, then… I will just send them a little greeting." He walked over to where Mirage was sitting and pressed a button launching two armed missiles.

**KH-KH-KH**

Helen emerged out of the plane's small bathroom wearing her super suit. She unceremoniously tossed her bag to the seating area and was shocked to hear an 'ow' coming from nowhere. "Violet!" she yelled knowing her daughter was using her powers to make herself invisible.

Violet made herself visible, also wearing the outfit that Edna made, and did what teenagers do best; pass the blame to someone else. "It's not my fault," she insisted. "Dash ran away, I knew I was going to get blame for it."

"That's not true!" Dash said, appearing behind one of the seats, also wearing one of Edna's suits.

The two children started to argue with one another and Helen had enough of it; she was stressed enough as it is. "Wait a minute. Did you left Jack-Jack alone?" Jack-Jack, of course being the youngest child in the family, was only a baby.

"Of course not, we got a sitter. Everything is taken care of," the children rolled their eyes.

Before Helen could question she kids further, an alarm went off in the cockpit. She dash over to see what it was and saw two missiles coming straight toward them. The ex-superhero quickly put on her headphones and tried to make contact again. "India Golf niner-niner transmitting in the blind guard. Disengage, repeat disengage." The missiles, however, didn't disengage and she had to make some evasive maneuvers. Helen managed to shake off one missile, but the other one was closing in fast. "Disengage, repeat. Friendlies… I repeat friendlies two zero miles south-southwest of your position. Angel 10. Track east. Disengage." Two more missiles appeared and the situation was getting worse by the minute. "Vi! Put a force field around the plane," she told her daughter.

"But you told us we couldn't use our powers," Violet said completely scared out of her mind.

"I know what I said! Listen to what I am saying now!" Helen turned back to the radio and tried to contact the island again. "Disengage. Repeat, disengage! Mayday, mayday! India Golf niner-niner is buddy-spiked! Abort! Abort! There are children aboard, there are children aboard this plane!" she pleaded, but the radio was still silent. "Violet, put a force field around us now!" she yelled.

"But I never done one that big," her daughter cried.

"Do it now!"

Violet tried to create a force field, but she couldn't make one larger than a small ball. The missiles were closing in on them fast, and right before any one of them could hit the plane, Helen rush in the seating area, grabbed her kids, used her powers to transform her body into a protective barrier surrounding her children.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back in the holding cells, a large screen TV displayed the missiles hitting the plane. Everyone felt sick to their stomach, with the exception of Syndrome.

Even Mirage was saddened by this ghastly deed. "We have a confirm hit. Target was destroyed," she said in a quiet voice.

"Ah, you're get over it," Syndrome said to Mr. Incredible mocking him.

"You are a monster!" Miranda yelled.

"People dying comes with the territory, beside we all know that Mr. Incredible prefer to 'work alone.'"

Using all of his strength, Mr. Incredible lunged at the villain in an attempt to grab him. Mirage pushed Syndrome out of way, but was grabbed by the superhero instead. "Release us, NOW!" he demanded.

"Or what?" Syndrome rolled his eyes.

"I'll crush her."

"That's sounds a little dark for you… Well, go ahead."

"It'll be easy. Like breaking a toothpick."

"Show me." Both men stared down each for a moment, waiting for the other to do something. Finally, Mr. Incredible let go of Mirage knowing he couldn't drop to Syndrome's level. "I knew you couldn't do it," the villain laughed. "Even when you have nothing to lose, you're weak! And I've outgrown you."

**KH-KH-KH**

Later that night, Helen (or should we say Elastigirl), Dash, and Violet washed up on the shores of the island exhausted beyond belief. They sought shelter in a nearby cave, got a small fire going, and tried their best to dry off.

"I think your father is in trouble," Elastigirl said after a while.

"If you haven't notice mom, we're not doing so hot either," Violet said with her head on her knees.

"I'm going to look for him. And that means you're in charge until I get back, Violet." She put on a black eye mask and gave her children one as well. "Put these on. Your identity is your most valuable possession. Protect it, and if anything goes wrong, use your powers."

"But you said never to use-"

"I know what I said!" she yelled. She didn't mean to yell at her kids, but she was trying to prepare them in case crap hit the fan. The mom quickly calmed down and tried a different approach. "Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys aren't like those guys. They won't exercise restraint just because you are children. They will kill you if they get the chance; do not give them that chance.

"Mom?"

"Vi, I'm counting on you."

"There's something that I-"

"I'm counting on you. Be strong. Dash, if anything goes wrong, I want you to run as fast as you can."

"As fast as I can?" the boy said excited that he was given permission to use his super speed.

"As fast as you can. Stay hidden, keep each other safe. I'll be back by morning."

Elastigirl was leaving the cave when her daughter stopped her. "Mom, what happened on the plane… I'm sorry. I wanted to help. When you asked me to… I'm sorry."

"Shh, it isn't your fault. It wasn't fair for me to suddenly ask so much of you. But things are different now, and doubt is a luxury we can't afford anymore, sweetie. You have more power than you realize. Don't think and don't worry. If the time comes, you're know what to do. It's in your blood," she smiled at her daughter and then raced into the jungle.

**KH-KH-KH**

Mirage watched the latest version of the omnidroid being loaded into the rocket. She was beginning to question her loyalties and wondered if it was too late to change sides. She looked over and saw Syndrome also watching the rocket going through final preparations. Every moment with him now disgusted her and made her feel like she was going to cough up bile. "He's not weak, you know," she said without looking at him.

"What?" Syndrome said slightly confused.

"Valuing life is not weakness."

"Hey, look, look, if you're talking about what happened in the containment unit, I had everything under control."

"And disregarding it, is not strength," she continued as if she didn't hear what the villain said.

"I called his buff, sweetheart, that's all. I knew he wouldn't have it in him to actually…" he tried to touch her but Mirage pushed him away.

"Next time you gamble, bet your own life," she yelled before storming out of the room, leaving behind a very puzzled Syndrome. "What's her deal?" he said to no one in particular.

"Good help is so hard to find," said a dark voice from behind him.

Syndrome didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belong to. "_Na_-_ra_-_ku_," he pronounced every syllable of the demon's name with great distain. "What are you doing here?" He turned around and saw that Light Yagami was with the demon. "I don't work for you guys anymore. You were too slow in activating your plans."

"Are you saying you think you can take the heart of all worlds all by yourself?"

"I'm saying I _know_ I can take Kingdom Hearts by _myself_. Listen, we had some good times, but now I have Jenova's DNA and have completed my Omnidroid, I don't need you guys anymore. Don't worry I will kill the keyblader that I captured all in due time. And in the meantime, I suggest you stay out of my way." Syndrome quickly left the room not because he had someplace to go, but because he was afraid of the demon and the young man. In fact, when the door closed behind him, he abandoned his cool temperament and ran down the halls like a frighten child.

Naraku and Light was still in the room pondering what to do next. "Take care of him Light," the demon said as he opened a portal. "Syndrome is no longer needed in this world."

Light smiled, pulled out the Death Note, and started writing.

**KH-KH-KH**

Elastigirl stealthily snuck in Syndrome's base. As she was maneuvering through the complex lair, she noticed a giant rocket. For a brief moment, she wondered about the rocket, but quickly remembered why she was here. After knocking out a few guards she managed to get a key card and was able to access one of the several computer terminals. As she was surfing the system, she notice that a lot of the island's power is being directed into holding cell 13. She knew that's where they are keeping her husband.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back at the cave, Violet was busy practicing setting up her force field so she can be useful will the time comes. Her brother Dash, however, was bored to death.

"While this is fascinating," he sarcastically remarked. "I think I'm going to explore the cave."

"Mom says to stay put!" Violet warned.

"Relax, I'm not going to leave the cave."

Then low rumbling came from beneath the ground. It grew louder then the sound and the vibrations hit them all at once and seem to come from everywhere. They looked at the back of the cave and saw a wall of fire coming toward them. The siblings raced out the cavern just in the nick of time. The brother and sister looked at each other puzzled and perplexed, and wondered where the fire came from. What the siblings didn't know was that Syndrome had launched his rocket and the cave that they where in was one of the many exhaust systems. Too scared to travel back in the cave, they decided to sleep on the jungle floor until morning.

It was mid-morning before Dash and Violet got up. Even though he was cold and hungry, Dash was still excited and ready to go.

"_Identification, please,"_ said a mechanical voice behind him.

Dash looked over and saw a brightly colored bird looking at him curiously. "Hey Violet, look it talks!"

"_Voice key incorrect,"_ the strange bird said.

Violet, however, wasn't so sure it was a talking bird. "Voice key? Wait a second…"

The bird then opened its beak and made a loud shrieking sound that could be heard for miles. _"Intruder alert, intruder alert,"_ it yelled along with its shriek.

"Let's go!" Violet urged covering her eyes.

"Where?" her brother said doing the same.

"I don't know, but anywhere but here!"

They ran off into the jungle trying to get as much distance from the bird as possible. It was too late however, their presence was detected and soon Syndrome's men were after them.

**KH-KH-KH**

Mirage walked into the holding cell and proceeded to the computer console.

"Come to gloat some more?" Trevor spat as eyed the woman carefully.

"There isn't much time," the platinum-blonde said as she pressed a button, unleashing them.

Everyone was confused by this change of heart. "You freed us, but why?"

"Syndrome has launched his rocket and-" she didn't get to finish, because Mr. Incredible grabbed her by the neck.

"Why are you here? Is killing my family isn't enough for you?" the superhero said in a low voice.

"Mr. Incredible, let her go," Trevor pleaded.

"Even though I don't like her, we could listen to her side of the story," Cloud added.

"Give me one good reason?" the superhero said.

"Your family survived…the crash," Mirage said in between breaths. "They're here…on the island."

"They survived?" Mr. Incredible said shocked. He stopped choking Mirage and brought her close so he could give her an impromptu hug.

The door opened and everyone looked to see Elastigirl standing in the doorway.

"Helen?" Mr. Incredible said confused as he released Mirage from his hug.

It was a very awkward moment as you can imagine and Mirage tried to save face and break the ice. "Hello, you must be Mrs. Incr-" Elastigirl used her elastic powers to sucker punch the woman.

"Why did you do that? She was helping us escape," Mr. Incredible said relieved to see his wife.

"No, that's what I was doing," Elastigirl said mad as hell. "And who are these clowns?" she gestured to Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, and Cloud.

"They're friends."

"They talked you into performing secret hero work didn't they?" Mr. Incredible grabbed her hand and pulled his wife close. "Let go of me, you lousy, lying, unfaithful creep!" she yelled.

Mr. Incredible held her close and kissed her. "How can I betray the perfect woman?"

"Oh, you're referring to me now?"

"Where are the kids?"

"They might have triggered the alert," Mirage said getting up from the floor.

"What?" everyone yelled.

"Security is already in the jungle. All of you have to get going."

"Now we have to rescue our kids too?" Elastigirl said couldn't believe the bad week she was having.

"If you suspected danger, why did you bring them?" Mr. Incredible asked as they all raced out of the room.

"I didn't bring them; they stowed away. And I don't think you're striking the proper tone here."

"Can I say something?" Bonkers asked.

"No," everybody yelled.

Five minutes later, the group was out in the jungle desperately searching for the children.

"I admit I should have told you that I was fired from my job," Mr. Incredible apologized to his wife. "But I didn't want you to worry."

"You didn't want me to worry? And now we are running for our lives through some godforsaken jungle!" Elastigirl yelled.

"You keep trying to pick a fight, but I'm still just happy you're alive."

Suddenly they heard explosions in the distance; they turned around and out of the bushes came Violet and Dash.

"Kids, you are alright!" the parents exclaimed.

"We were so worried about you," the kids chimed in.

The family gave each other a group hug right there in the middle of the jungle.

Bonkers wiped a tear from his eye. "This is so precious!" he wept.

"I hate to break up this tender moment, but we got company," Cloud said as he brandished his buster sword.

Just then dozens of Syndrome's security guard on hovercrafts appeared and pointed their weapons at the group. Mr. and Mrs. Incredible easily took out the first two with a punch and a kick. A third hovercraft came and Trevor and Miranda brought it down with there weapons. Still, more hovercrafts came and attacked them. Dash ran around the group extremely fast to provide a smokescreen while Violet protected them all with a force field. Trevor and Bonkers pooled their mana together and unleashed a devastating spell.

"_Limit Breaker: __**Firestorm!**_" The keyblader and the bobcat tossed their weapons in the air and hundreds of fireballs fell out of the sky wiping out every enemy except for five.

Faster than the blink of an eye, Cloud sliced the remaining hovercrafts in half destroying them.

"Where do we go from here?" Cloud said as he placed his sword on his back.

"I saw a rocket when I first entered the base," Elastigirl remembered.

"That rocket has a powerful robot inside of it," Trevor explained to Helen and the kids. "Syndrome is going to use it to terrorize the city. Unfortunately, I think he already launched it."

"So what are we going to do?" Miranda asked.

"We're going to stop it," Mr. Incredible said with determination.

The group snuck back into the base, which is hard to do since their party size is now eight. They managed to get through however with, surprisingly, little resistance. They made it to the aircraft hanger and saw nothing but a spare rocket and a RV.

"So he did launch the rocket," Trevor cursed.

"How are we going to get back to the mainland in time?" Elastigirl questioned them.

"We could just take the rocket," Dash said pointing at the spare rocket.

"But I don't know how to fly a rocket."

"You don't have to," Violet chimed in. "Just use the coordinates from the last launch."

"But Syndrome must have changed the password by now, how do we get into the computer?" Mr. Incredible thought aloud.

"Say _'please.'_" Mirage's voice filled the air. The group looked up in the control tower and saw Mirage smiling down on them. "Syndrome is already on the move. He plans to stop his own creation from destroying the city so people will be fooled to believe he's an actual superhero."

"So that's his plan," Trevor slammed his fist into his hand. "And to think, he killed all of those superheroes so he could pretend to be one."

"We're wasting time here; let's move!" Mr. Incredible exclaimed.

**KH-KH-KH**

In Retro City, the rocket already has landed and the Omnidroid Heartless was terrorizing the city. The military and local enforcement got involved but they couldn't even make a dent on the creature. The Heartless ignored them all and continued doing what it was program to do. Using its tentacles it picked up a gas truck and hurled it across the street. Before the truck could land on some innocent bystanders, Syndrome swooped down and stopped the truck in midair using zero-point energy.

"The supers have returned!" one citizen said.

"Is that Fironic?" one woman asked

"No, Fironic had a different outfit," another said.

"No, no," Syndrome began. "I'm a new superhero. I'm Syndrome. Alright, stand back. Someone needs to teach this hunk of metal a few manners." The villain used his rocket boots to fly over to the Heartless performed a fake punch and pressed a button on his arm band so that one of the creature's tentacles could fall off.

The people praised Syndrome for his heroic act, but the Heartless was quickly calculating its next move. Because the Heartless was a self-learning robot it knew that Syndrome and his remote control were a threat to it. It fired a laser separating the villain with his remote control arm band then knocked him out with one sweep of its tentacles. Once the threat has been neutralized, the creature continued its rampage across the city.

**KH-KH-KH**

Our group of heroes finally entered the city limits when the rocket broke apart and deposited the RV that they're in on the freeway. Mr. Incredible was driving like a maniac trying to get to the part of town where the Heartless was.

"Are we there yet?" Bonkers whined from the back of the RV.

"We will get there when we get there!" Mr. Incredible seethed. "The robot is in the financial district, which exit do I take?" he asked his wife.

"Traction Avenue," she deadpanned trying to psych herself up for the upcoming battle.

"That will take me downtown. I have to take Seventh, don't I?"

"Don't take Seventh!"

"Great, we missed the exit."

"You ask how do we get there and I told you. Exit at Traction."

"That will take me to the other side of downtown."

"It's going up, get in the right lane."

"We don't exit at Traction!"

"You're going to miss it!"

"Just take Traction!" Trevor and Cloud yelled at Mr. Incredible tried of all the yelling.

Mr. Incredible make a hard (and illegal) right turn and steered the RV down the exit ramp. Miracles of miracles, they didn't crash into anyone and although the van flipped over a number of times, it landed right side up and in a parking space.

"Is everybody okay back there?" Mr. Incredible asked when it was all over.

"Super-duper dad," Violet said climbing out of the wreckage.

Trevor just gave a thumb's up.

Just then the Heartless passed by taking no notice of them. Mr. Incredible leapt into action. "Wait here and stay hidden. I'm going in," he ordered his family.

Elastigirl, however, didn't like that plan. "While what? I watch helplessly from the sidelines? I don't think so."

"I'm asking you to wait with the kids."

"And I'm telling you not a chance. You are my husband; I'm with you for better or worse."

"I have to do this alone," Mr. Incredible insisted.

"What is this to you, playtime?"

"No."

"So you can be Mr. Incredible again?"

"No!"

"Then what?"

"I'm not…I'm not strong enough."

"Strong enough? And this will make you stronger?"

"No."

"That's what this is? Some sort of workout?"

"I can't lose you again!" he blurted out. "I can't… Not again… I'm not…strong enough."

Elastigirl kissed her husband, touched that he truly cared about his family. "If we all work together, you don't have to be."

"She right, Mr. Incredible," Trevor said walking up to them. "That's what family is for, supporting each other in times of need. Besides, you have a family of superheroes. What's the worse that could happen?"

They all heard Violet scream and turned around to see her pointing at the sky. They looked up and saw that the Heartless was upon them. Violet set up a force field, but the Heartless kept pounding away until the barrier broke. The group dodged the monster's tentacles while Cloud and Miranda tried to cut them off. They had no such luck, so Trevor and Bonkers tried their magic instead. Their spells, unfortunately, bounced off the creature like rubber. Mr. Incredible tried to pick up the gigantic monster and toss it using his super strength, but the Heartless grabbed him before he could toss it, and tossed the superhero into the nearest building. The superhero then jumped out of the building and slammed the creature to the ground.

Before the Heartless could get back up, an ice beam froze two of its tentacles. Everyone looked up and saw another superhero, called Frozone, enter the fight.

"Frozone!" Mr. Incredible greeted his best friend.

Frozone tried to freeze the Heartless, but it broke out of its ice casing and knocked both heroes several blocks away.

Mr. Incredible was knocked unconscious for a second, but he quickly woke up and saw Syndrome's remote control. "Syndrome's remote!" he cried out in jubilation. The Heartless heard the superhero's cry and didn't like it. It quickly launched one of its claws at the hero to capture him. Mr. Incredible dodged the attack and pressed one of the buttons. Instead of shutting down the robot, the now separated claw started launching its rockets and spinning wildly. He quickly pressed the button again and the rockets shut off.

"We can't penetrate it," Elastigirl ran up to her husband. "Its metal shell is too thick."

"I fought with one of the early version of this robot before. The only thing that can penetrate it is itself." Mr. Incredible gave his wife the remote. "Take this, press that button, and I will toss this claw at it."

"It's moving too quickly we won't get a clear shot," the wife worried.

"Leave it to us," Trevor said. "We will get that Heartless to stand still." Trevor leapt into action, performing a series of combos while dodging the tentacles of the beast. Miranda and Cloud joined in, helping distract the monster, but not making it stand still.

"What will it take to stop this beast?" Miranda questioned out loud.

"I think Frozone has the right idea," the keyblader pondered out loud. "Frozone, Bonkers, let's see if we can freeze this thing. The three used their best ice attacks, but the Heartless kept deflecting them.

Trevor was frustrated, but felt a golden power flowing through him. He decided to go with flow and see where this power will take him. "Trinity Limit: **Frozen Spear!**"

The keyblader felt an unbelievable amount of mana rush within him, making him emit a golden glow. He looked over and saw Bonkers was experiencing the same thing. Both cartoon bobcat and keyblader lift their weapons in the air and performed the biggest Blizzaga spell they have ever seen. The two spells merged into one massive ball, sparkling and shimmering with a light, cold blue. Miranda jumped high into the air and let her sword be hit with the spell. Her sword froze over and took the attribute of ice. She then plunged the sword into the giant Heartless and slowly the creature froze over turning into an ice sculpture of itself.

Now that the Heartless was immobilized, Mr. and Mrs. Incredible now have a clear shot.

"Do it, NOW!" Mr. Incredible yelled. His wife pushed the button, the rockets on the claw activated, and the superhero tossed it at the horrible creature. The claw went straight through the beast, destroying its central-processing unit. The Heartless then collapsed within itself and released its giant, crystal heart.

All of the citizens cheered them; they were thankful that the supers have returned in their hour of need.

"Do you think that means we can come out of hiding?" Mr. Incredible asked his wife.

"One step at a time," Elastigirl said. "First I want to go home and see Jack-Jack."

**KH-KH-KH**

In the shadows, Syndrome woken up just in time to see the heroes take down his creation. His anger and rage grew with the cheering and the applauding of the crowd. _'They stole my thunder!'_ he thought wildly. His mind and thought pattern became a mess, nothing more than raw, unadulterated wrath. He felt something strange inside him, as if forces he couldn't explain were controlling him and he was compelled to obey them; no matter what. _'They stole future, so I'm going to steal theirs.'_

**KH-KH-KH**

The group of the heroes traveled back to the Parr residents in the suburbs tried from the long day they had. They opened the door and expected to see the babysitter, but they were greeting by Syndrome holding the baby.

Before they could do anything, the villain blasted them with zero-point energy freezing them in place. "Shh, the baby's sleeping," he mocked. "And who knows? Maybe one day he will make a good sidekick." Syndrome blasted the ceiling and used his rocket boots to fly out.

The heroes were released from the force field and watched helplessly as Syndrome was kidnapping Jack-Jack.

"He getting away, Bob! We have to do something; we have to do something now!" Elastigirl screamed, frighten for her baby's life.

As Syndrome was making his getaway, Jack-Jack was crying uncontrollably. Suddenly the baby stops crying, as if he knows it's time to kick some butt, and burst into flames. Syndrome couldn't believe what was happening, but he held on to the baby. Jack-Jack saw that what he was doing didn't work, so he tried a different power. The baby became a solid mass of steel, causing the villain to almost drop him, yet Syndrome still held on. Having enough of this foolish, Jack-Jack used the last of his powers and transformed into a raging beast and started choking the villain.

Outside, the heroes wondered how they were going to save Jack-Jack.

"I could use a Thunder spell to hit Syndrome and use Aero to make Jack-Jack float gently to the ground," Bonkers suggested.

"That's crazy, it will never work," Trevor said. "I could use the Aviator Drive Form to save him."

"But how are you going to fight Syndrome while holding on to a baby?" Miranda asked.

"Throw me. Bob, throw me!" Elastigirl said as she made her body slender and more aerodynamic. Mr. Incredible toss her in air toward Syndrome, just in time too, because the villain dropped the baby. She grabbed her child in midair and transformed into a parachute.

Syndrome just wanted to get out of there and count his losses. He stumbled into his awaiting aircraft, but for some reason he felt like he was force to make one more taunt. "This isn't the end of it! I will get your son eventually! I'll get your son!" What Syndrome wasn't counting on was Mr. Incredible tossing his car at the aircraft. At the moment of impact, the villain lost his balance fell into the turbines of the plane's jet engines. He tried to climb out, but his cape was caught in the turbines and he was sucked in. The aircraft exploded and the wreckage landed on the house, destroying it.

Lucky for the heroes, Violet set up a force field to protect them all from the explosion.

"That's my girl," Elastigirl praised her daughter.

"Does this mean we have to move again and find a new home?" Dash asked looking at their wreaked house.

His parents such chuckled softly and brought the family together in a group hug.

"As long as we keep each other in our hearts, we will always be home," Elastigirl said softly to her children.

"I just love a happy ending!" Bonkers sobbed uncontrollably, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.

Miranda patted the bobcat's head and Trevor just shook his. The keyblader then notice a strange golden light coming from the wreckage. It grows more and more until it transformed into the keyhole of the world. He lifted his keyblade up and sealed the world, preventing any evil from coming into it again.

After the world was locked again, Trevor noticed Cloud slowly walking away. "Cloud, where are you going?" he inquired. "Why don't you come with us? We could always use more fighters to fight Naraku and his colleagues."

"Thanks, but no thanks," the blond swordsman said. "I have to make sure that Syndrome's Jenova experiments never see the light of day. And then, after that, I must find Sephiroth."

"Well then, good luck on your mission."

"And the same to you," Cloud said before wandering off.

**KH-KH-KH**

Light Yagami was only across the street from the group of heroes, but stayed in the shadows. He smiled at his handiwork and read what he wrote down in his Death Note. "At 1:32 pm Syndrome loses control of his Heartless robot and is knocked unconscious. At 2:04 he awakes to discover his invention destroyed and plots kidnap the Incredibles' youngest son.

"He arrives at the superheroes' home ten minutes later, and dismissed the babysitter already there. He waits till the heroes to come into the house to gloat and tell them about his newest plans involving their son. He exits the house and tries to make it to his plane, but the baby's power develops and he is unable to control him.

"Syndrome drops the baby and makes it to plane and has to taunt one last time. During that time, Mr. Incredible uses his super strength to toss a car at the plane. On impact, Syndrome loses his balance, got suck in the plane's engine and dies at 2:20 pm."

Light closed his Death Note and wondered if he should write Trevor's name down. He quickly dismissed the idea; he was so close to his goal, he couldn't deviate from it now. "They will all die at my hands," he said to no one in particular. "Naraku, the keybladers, and their friends. They are all helpless against the power of the Death Note. After all, the pen is mightier than the keyblade."

**KH-KH-KH**

Back at the Heart of Gold, the trio was excited. For the first time they have lead on the Forsaken.

"All we need to do is go the world _The Big Apple_, find the Huntsmaster and Flicker, and beat them until they give us the information that we want," Trevor said pumping his fist in the air.

"Eddie, set a course to the world _The Big Apple_," Miranda said proudly as she sat down.

"Do you want to watch the video message that Sgt. Grating sent you first?" the computer asked innocently.

"The Sergeant sent us a message?" Miranda yelled at the program.

"Who is Sgt. Grating? Isn't he your and Bonkers' boss or something?" the keyblader asked.

"Yes he is," Miranda said hastily. "Eddie, play the message."

The computer program complied and the screen played the message. The group saw a frazzled Grating with sounds of screaming and explosions in the background. "Bonkers, Miranda, you have to come back to this world quick! Some cartoon is raiding police headquarters. I never seen anything like it. She dangerous, she already has taken several policemen hostage-" Suddenly the sound of a door opening was heard and the sergeant looked in another direction. Before he could react, the screen went fuzzy for a couple of moments and an image of a cartoon woman wearing a blue cloak appeared with Sgt. Grating bound and gagged.

"That woman!" Bonkers yelled in realization.

"She was in Syndrome's computer databanks!" Trevor remembered.

Jessica Rabbit was on the screen and flashed a seductive smile at the camera. "Bonkers, I know you are watching," the cartoon woman said smoothly. "Come back to your home world so we can have a little…chat; maybe we can play a little paddy-cake. And Trevor," she voice suddenly became cold and harsh. "Vincent Valentine and your brother could like a word with you." The video transmission cut off and all that was left was static.

Trevor clenched his fists and was so angry he couldn't see straight.

"It could be a trap," Miranda said. "But what can we do? We have to save the sergeant, but if we do that Flicker might get away."

"I doesn't matter, we have to save your world," the keyblader stated. "Eddie, set a new course, it looks like we are taking a detour."

**KH-KH-KH**

Sora was sitting on the trunk of a tree on the Destiny Islands. A half of day ago, he, Riku, and Kairi returned to the islands to get a breather and discuss what their next plan of action is. Imagine their surprise when they received a note from King Mickey. Sora had the note in his hand and decided to read it again.

'_Sora,'_ it began, _'I wanted to tell you immediately that there were memories asleep inside you. And those memory fragments connect to the future. Sora, Riku, Kairi, the truth surrounding the keyblade passes through numerous connections and were inside your hearts. Sora, everyone connected to you is waiting for you. The only one who can heal their sadness is you. It's possible that the travels up until now may be easy in comparison to what's next. Everything thought to be accidental was really connected. It seems the door to a new departure is already opening. Sora, Riku, meet me at Yen Sid's Mysterious Tower. It is there where you two will receive additional training and receive the title of Master.'_

Sora put down the note and stared across the ocean, wondering what the future holds for him.

"Sora, your mind's made up?" Riku walked up and asked him.

Sora nodded and jumped off the tree. "Yeah," he simply said.

Kairi walked up behind the two boys and made herself known. "Sora, you are going away again…" she said sadly, but tried her best to put on a brave face.

Sora walked up to her and smiled. "It's just…they really need me. I have to go. I am who I am, because of them."

The princess of heart gave a sad smile and put something in Sora's hand. The boy keyblader looked at the object and saw the Thalassa shell charm that she gave him long ago. "See you soon… and hurry back Sora. You too Riku."

Both boys nodded and raced toward the gummi ship.

Kairi watched the gummi ship slowly made its ascend and head off into inter-space. The princess of heart felt helpless again and was sick of it. A courage that she didn't knew she had started to rise up within her, making her bolder with each passing second.

"I'm tired of waiting and being the damsel in distress," she said out loud to no one. "I'm tired of Sora, Riku, and the others saving the universe while I sit here and do nothing." She summoned her keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, and held it out in front of her. "But not this time. This time I will make a difference, I will help the others save the universe."

The young keyblader opened up a corridor of light and it shined with the light of a thousand stars. She ran through it and was whisk away to another world.

**Next Chapter: Homecoming**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Cloud Strife: Final Fantasy VII

Robert Parr/Mr. Incredible: The Incredibles(2005)

Helen Parr/Elastigirl: The Incredibles(2005)

Violet Parr: The Incredibles(2005)

Dash Parr: The Incredibles(2005)

Jack-Jack: The Incredibles(2005)

Edna Mode: The Incredibles(2005)

Frozone: The Incredibles(2005)

**Author's Notes: I finally got this chapter done! I'm more excited about the next two chapters, because a lot of secrets are going to be revealed. Stay tuned and don't forget to review if you feel like it.**


	21. Homecoming

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 20: Homecoming**

The Heart of Gold arrived at Bonkers' and Miranda's world in a fraction of a second, thanks to the Infinite Improbability Drive. Unfortunately for the crew, the proofing screens have failed once again. The whole inside of the cabin was transformed into a large cabaña hut with potted palm trees spread across the room. In the back of the cabin were doors leading into separate changing rooms, and all of chairs were replaced with fold-up loungers.

Miranda was wearing a blue one-piece bathing suit, dark sunglasses, and a sun hat. "God, I hate the Improbability Drive," she rubbed her temples.

Trevor found himself relaxing on a lounge chair with a tropical drink in hand. He had on red shorts and a red Hawaiian t-shirt and was near a small reflecting pool. "Eddie, I thought you were going to fix the proofing screens!" he yelled.

"Sorry about that gang," the computer chimed in. "But we have arrived at your destination." A fifty inch flat screen television slowly descended from the ceiling of the cabin and displayed a picture of the world.

"There it is," Miranda said proudly. "_The Downtown Beat_." The whole world was covered was buildings, but not in the way _The City of Lost Angels_ or _Retro City_ was. The world had a much more urban feel to it, although there are certain areas on the world that are clearly for the rich.

"It's not much, but we call it home," Bonkers said also on a lounge chair, wearing nothing but Bermuda shorts and sandals.

"Well, let's go," the keyblader said as he stood up. He then looked at the way everyone was dressed and decided they shouldn't be so hasty. "First we change, then we go."

**KH-KH-KH**

When the trio landed on the world, they found it in disarray. The streets were completely overrun with Nobodies. Dusks, Samurais, Dancers, Berserkers; you name it, it was there.

"We leave the world for a couple of weeks and look what happens," Bonkers commented as the Nobodies drew closer.

"How are we going to fight them all," Miranda said taking out her katana. "There's too many of them."

"How far is it from the police station?" Trevor inquired.

"About a couple of blocks from here, why?"

"We don't have to fight them all," the keyblader said. "We'll just run pass them…"

"I could have thought of that," the cartoon bobcat huffed.

"Enough talk, do you want to save your world or not?" His two friends nodded and together they dashed along the street, avoiding every attack that came their way.

Maneuvering through the streets filled with Nobodies was like running in an obstacle course. The trio dodged, rolled, climbed, and somersaulted toward the police station. Each passing yard became more difficult than the last. The group finally made it to the step of the station and was greeted by a peculiar sight. Coming out of the police station was a policeman that wasn't bothered by the Nobodies, but seemed to have his mind on other things.

"It's a madhouse!" he said to no one in particular. "A complete madhouse! Someone should do something about it!"

"Chief?" Miranda and Bonkers said simultaneously.

The Chief of Police looked up and smiled at the two officers. "Officer Wright, Officer Bobcat," he greeted them. The Chief looked like a kindly old man who's balding, but still have patches of gray hair left. He had a certain look about him, like he was lost, but didn't really care. "What are you doing here? I thought Sgt. Grating sent you two on a special assignment."

"We were…I mean, we still are," Miranda began, "We came back to save the city."

"Who's that?" Trevor whispered to Bonkers and pointed at the Chief.

"That's Chief Leonard Kanifky," the bobcat whispered back. "He's loads of fun."

"Save the city?" Chief Kanifky eyed Miranda strangely. "The problem isn't _that_ serious."

"What are you talking about sir!" the blonde cop yelled. "There are creatures of darkness overrunning the city!"

"There are?" the chief looked shook. For the first time, the chief took a good look around him and saw the damage the invaders were causing. "My word! Someone should call the police!"

"We _are_ the police!"

"Good, that takes care of one problem," Chief Kanifky nodded as if the actual problem was solved. "Miranda, Bonkers, you guys take care of this 'Nobody' situation while I handle something more important. And trust me; it's complete madness."

"What's that, Chief?" Bonkers inquired.

"The break room is out of coffee!" the Chief said like it's the end of the world. Everyone looked at the old man like he lost his mind. "And furthermore, everyone expects me to get more! I hate running errands; I just hate it!" The group watched as Chief Kanifky got into his car, mumbling to himself, and drove off.

"I take it, the Chief is a burger short of a happy meal," Trevor said completely dumbfounded.

"Well…, he's….overly-eccentric," Miranda candy-coated it. "But we can't worry about that now. We have to save Sgt. Grating." The keyblader and the bobcat nodded and they went into the building with Miranda.

The first observation they made when they entered police headquarters was how empty it was. There were no cops, Heartless, or Nobodies; just an eerie calm as if the whole building let out a long sigh some time ago.

"Where is anybody?" Miranda said looking around.

Trevor was thinking the worse; that Jessica had killed them all. However, he didn't voice this out loud for the sake of his two friends.

The trio traveled upstairs, went into the situation room, and saw Sgt. Grating handcuffed and gagged. He was shaking his head rapidly as if he was trying to tell them something. The group ignored this, un-cuff him, and removed the gag.

"It's a trap, you idiots!" the sergeant yelled.

Immediately, several Heartless appeared. The creatures resembled Pirate Heartless, except they wore a purple mask, a black and white striped shirt, and carried a large burlap sack with them.

"Great," Trevor sarcastically spat as he summoned his keyblade. "This day keeps getting better and better."

One of the Heartless lunged at Trevor and he knocked the creature across the room. Miranda was struggling with two Heartless at once. The Heartless tried to flank her, but she sidestepped the attack and destroyed them both with one slice.

Bonkers wasn't so lucky; the last Heartless snuck up behind him and knocked him out. The Heartless quickly tossed the toon in its burlap sack and made a run for it.

"Oh no you don't," Trevor quickly cast Thunder on the Heartless, destroying it, and Bonkers fell out of the sack unceremoniously.

With all the Heartless gone, everyone relax a little; with the exception of Sgt. Grating. "Stupid, lousily toons," he cursed. "Stupid, lousily, _good-for-nothing_ toons!" he added for good measure.

"Sergeant, what happened here?" Miranda asked. "What happen to all of the police?"

"I tell you what happened," the sergeant yelled. "That toon, Jessica, came in and just overtook us. Her and those white things, Nobodies I think she called them, just caught us completely off guard. She made us all look like phobies! All of the other policemen are all over the city trying to neutralize this outbreak."

"But what did she want?" Trevor asked. "Why attack the police station?"

It was the first time the sergeant noticed Trevor. "You are one of the keybladers, eh? One of the 'oh-so-precious-few' who were chosen to wield the key. Well, if that's the case then we're all screwed!" The sergeant threw his hands in the air and then slapped his forehead. "She only did it so you and Bonkers could come here. It was all a trap."

"Well, it worked," Trevor simply stated. "But the question is, why set a trap here?"

Just then a dagger crash through a nearby window and got stuck on the wall. After the initial shock, the group carefully when over to the knife, and saw that a note was attached to it. Trevor took the note off and read it out loud. "Dear Bonkers, now that you are here in this world, I think it's time we have our little chat. Meet me in the warehouse district in one hour and come alone. If the cops or your friends get involved, then I afraid I will have to hurt them and you don't want that, do you? XOXO, Jessica Rabbit."

"Definitely a trap," Miranda said. "But what are we going to do about it?"

"We set a trap of our own," Trevor gave a wry smile.

**KH-KH-KH**

A half an hour later, Bonkers wandered through the warehouse distract alone. To say he was nervous was an understatement. He was sweating buckets; literally. The bobcat found the warehouse he was suppose to meet Jessica and cautiously entered it. The warehouse was dimly light and the only source of light was a single lamp hanging from the middle of the ceiling. The storehouse was full of crates, barrels, and lockers. Upon closer inspection, Bonkers realized that the crates and other storage units contained props from various movies and cartoons.

He was about to pick up a stray mallet when he heard a voice from behind him. "I'm glad you could make it, Bonkers." The cartoon bobcat turned around and a figure stepped into the small circle of light that was in the middle of the warehouse.

One could tell the figure was a woman, from the shape and the voice. However, the figure was completely covered up by her blue clock and the only distinguishing feature one could make out was a few stray strains of red hair. The woman lift up her hood and her beautiful face appeared. The female cartoon had long flowing red hair which covered the right side of her face and was wearing pink eye shadow with the deepest red lipstick on her lips. "We should get down to business, shall we?" Jessica said as removed her cloak completely and let it drop to the floor. Bonkers' jaw hit the floor and his eyes turned into hearts when he saw how beautiful the female cartoon was. Jessica had a perfect hourglass figure and was wearing a red, sparkling, sequin dress and a pair of long, elbow-length, purple gloves.

"Come here little doggy," Jessica bent down gestured the bobcat to come over.

Bonkers got on all fours, wagged his tail excitedly, and howled like a wolf. He scampered over to the female toon who scoped him up and cradled him like a mother does to an infant child.

"That's a good boy," Jessica cooed. "Now, did your friends follow you here?"

"Yes, they're right over there," the bobcat pointed to a secluded spot completely mesmerized by Jessica's beauty.

"BONKERS!" both Trevor and Miranda yelled from their hiding spots.

"Vincent!" Jessica yelled. Vincent Valentine came out of the shadows and fired round after round at the keyblader's and cop's hiding place.

Both Trevor and Miranda rolled out of the way and tried to flank the gunman from both sides. Vincent was too quick for them however and jump in the air to unleash a rain of bullets on the two. Trevor cast Protect to protect him and Miranda from the bullets until the attack was over. Vincent landed on the ground, spun around, took out his shotgun, and shot at the barrier. The magical barrier shattered into tiny pieces and Trevor made the poor decision to charge at Vincent head on. Before Vincent could fire his gun or Trevor could slice with his keyblade, a magic barrier formed between them.

"That's quite enough of that," said an overly confident voice.

Trevor looked at the direction the voice was coming from and saw a man with broad shoulders adjusting his glasses. He instantly knew who it was. "Zackary," he spat. "I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"That's no way to talk to your older brother," Zackary scolded and stood right beside Jessica. It was then that Trevor noticed that Jessica was no longer cradling Bonkers like before, but now was holding him by the neck. The poor bobcat struggled to get away, but Jessica used her left hand to hold his neck and her right to bind his hands.

"So, what do you want?" Trevor questioned suspiciously.

"What do I want?" Zackary laughed a little as he repeated his brother's question. "I want what I always want; for you to join the Forsaken."

"NEVER!"

"You were always so impulsive," Zackary rubbed his temples. "Just hear me out and maybe you could see why me and the other members are doing the things we do."

Trevor looked at Miranda, who looked like she didn't know what to think. The keyblader then lowered his keyblade and dismiss his weapon.

The older brother nodded his head and began his tale, "As you know, little over a year and few months ago, the Heartless breakout caused many worlds to fall into the darkness. However, when Sora defeated Xehanort's Heartless and locked Kingdom Hearts, with the help of King Mickey, the worlds were able to return. And yet, some of those worlds that returned were altered greatly.

"Me and my colleagues found this out the hard way. When we return to our home worlds, at first we all thought that we made a mistake; that we were on the wrong world. But after further investigations, we sadly found out the truth; that ours worlds have been replaced by another world. Or rather, our worlds' heart and memories were altered causing it to change.

"We were strangers in our own worlds and we banded together under one cause; to bring back our original world. After much planning, we discovered that there was only one way to back our worlds. Keep in mind that we are not happy about this discovery, but it's a necessary evil. If we manage to steal the heart of the hero of the world and fused his heart with the heart of the world, then the world's true memories will be restored and the world will return to normal."

"The hero of the world?" Trevor questioned. "What does that suppose to mean?"

"Every world among the stars has three types of people," Jessica answered still holding Bonkers so he wouldn't escape. "The hero, the love interest/confidant, and the villain. The villain's job is to provide strike and conflict, the hero's job is to resolve the conflict, and the love interest's or confidant's job is to make sure the hero doesn't lose hope. Every generation has to face this, an unending cycle of battles between heroes and villains."

"Between Darkness and Light," Zackary added. "This eternal battle between the forces of good and evil, of destruction and rebirth, of Darkness and Light is what keeps the universe going and life beginning anew. For Darkness cannot exist without Light and Light cannot exist without Darkness."

"And Bonkers is the hero of this world?" Miranda asked looking for an opening to attack.

"That is correct," Jessica cooed. "Only the heart of the hero will do, for it contains the true memories of the old world. You see, Bonkers' heart is, in fact, the heart of my husband, Roger Rabbit."

"When the worlds were altered, some people were altered as well," Zackary explained coolly. "Bonkers is, in fact, a distorted Roger Rabbit, same way as Lazlo was a distorted Rocko and so on. It also explains why the Baloo, Louie, and Shere Khan you met in Cape Suzette wasn't the same animals we have met in the Ivory Jungle."

"Also, there are people like us," Jessica explained further. "People who are forced to share their hearts with another; with a false being."

"You guys are crazy!" Trevor protested. "Do you expect us to believe that?"

"You honestly think we're crazy?" Zackary scoffed. "Then tell me, do you know of a man named Kyle Birch?"

Trevor opened his mouth to retort, but then quickly shut it. He was beginning to remember something and a shadowy image appeared in his mind. The image was a young man with sandy blond hair. He knew that this young man was the same one he sees in his nightmares. He never truly thought about it before, but the young man looked _exactly_ like him.

"I can tell by your facial expressions, you know what I am talking about," Zackary mocked. "Kyle and you share the same heart, same way other members of the Forsaken share their hearts with someone else."

"I'm forced to share my heart with a cartoon called Fawn Deer," Jessica said with disdain. "I will be glad when she disappears."

"You are talking about killing innocent people!" Trevor yelled; he couldn't believe the madness he was hearing. "And I won't let you harm Bonkers, Miranda, or anyone else in this world!"

His older brother sighed and readjusted his glasses. "Your amnesia has made you naïve. As keybladers, it is our duty to protect the worlds and that is what I am trying to do. We are protectors and warriors, Trevor. If some blood must be spilled then so be it."

"But-"

"But, nothing! Besides, you have nothing to worry about. All of your friends won't truly die, but be reborn as the people they were meant to be."

"He's right," Jessica smiled. "Bonkers will be reborn as my husband Roger, and Miranda will too be transformed. I'm not sure, but I think that she has the heart of a woman named Dolores."

"Still, what right do you have saying these people shouldn't exist?" Trevor challenged. "These people have a right to exist!"

"So you say," Zackary sighed. "But, I'm more worried about the existence of people that actually matter. Jessica, do it."

Jessica nodded and plunged one of her hands deep within Bonkers' chest. Miranda and Trevor watched in horror as Jessica pulled out the bobcat's heart. The two tried to save him, but Zackary raised his hand and unleashed a spell that summoned magic chains to bind them.

The female cartoon tossed away Bonkers' body unceremoniously and marveled at his heart. "Look how bright it is," she said in awe. "Finally, I will be able to bring my world back!"

"YOU MONSTERS!" Miranda yelled in anguish. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?"

"Of course we do," Zackary said coldly, his mind on other matters. "What I want to know is why Bonkers' body didn't fade away yet?" Sure enough, the bobcat's body didn't fade away or became a Nobody.

"That's because a cartoon's body is different from a human's body," Jessica explained. "We cartoons are practically immortal, leaving only several methods to kill a toon. But as long as a cartoon is remembered, it could never truly die or fade away. I imagine that there are people in this world who remember this bobcat's cartoons and the joy of those memories are what's keeping his body bound to the Light Realm. When those memories of him fade, so will his body."

"Very well," Zackary shook it off. "I trust you can handle your mission without further help from me or Vincent."

Jessica just walked away with Bonkers' heart in hand. "Don't patronize me. Everything's in the bag."

"Good. Vincent, come, we have other work to do," Zackary said as he opened a corridor of darkness. "It's a shame that you refuse to work with us Trevor. You could have been a real asset."

"Shut the hell up!" Trevor yelled struggling to free himself from the magic chains. "Just shut up and fight me!"

"Now why would I do that?" his older brother smirked. "Think over what I said, little brother. When you regain your senses, join us." Both Zackary and Vincent stepped into the portal and disappeared.

When Zackary was gone, his spell dispersed and Trevor and Miranda were free to move again. Miranda immediately rushed over to Bonkers' body seeing if there was anything she could do to help. Trevor circled the perimeter for signs of Jessica, but she was long gone.

"Trevor!" Miranda called out. "Is there anything that we can do?"

The keyblader ran over to her and inspect the bobcat's empty body. Every so often dark swirls of smoke started to emanate from the body. Trevor shook his head, "There's nothing I can do. It's amazing that his body has stayed in the Light Realm for so long, but he doesn't have much long. I say he has a couple of hours before he…he…" He couldn't bring himself to say it.

"That can't be it," the blonde cop protested. "Use your keyblade, your magic, or something to bring his heart back!"

"It doesn't work like that, but we will find a way."

"How?"

"For Jessica's plan to work, she needs to fuse Bonkers' heart with the heart of the world. All we need to do is find the keyhole of the world before she does and she when she shows up we take back the heart. Now, can you think where the keyhole of your world might be?"

Miranda tried to think, but she was too tired, angry, and worried to think properly. "Uh…, for what we saw in our travels, the keyhole will be located in the most important spot of the world."

"And that would be?"

"I don't know! It could be anywhere; we have to look all over town. It could be Bonkers' house or maybe…" Miranda mind connected the dots. "That sneaky &*%$!"

"What is it?" Trevor said somewhat surprised that Miranda would use such language.

She grabbed Bonkers' body and headed outside. "It's back at the police station!"

"What?" Trevor ran after her. "She attacked the station a few moments ago."

"Exactly, it the only place no one would look for her," Miranda got in her police car and picked up her radio. "Calling all units, there's going to be another attack on the police station. I repeat, another attack on the police station!" Trevor got in the vehicle and Miranda drove off like a bat out of hell. "Also," Miranda said to the keyblader, "All of the police are out destroying Nobodies."

"Or out looking for coffee," Trevor said under his breath remembering Chief Kanifky.

**KH-KH-KH**

Jessica was in front of the police station, ready to unleash her final move. She held out her left hand and emitted a beam of light. The light seemed to hit an invisible wall and the keyhole of the world slowly manifested.

"Checkmate," the cartoon woman smiled triumphantly.

Suddenly, tons of police sirens seem to go off at once and dozens of police cars swarm in front of the station. "Put your hands in the air!" one cop shouted.

The buxom cartoon turned around, not believing what she was seeing. _'How did they get here so fast?'_ she thought. _'I was so careful!'_

"JESSICA!" The toon looked over and saw Miranda and Trevor heading for her; both carrying Bonkers' body with them.

"You're too late," Jessica hissed. "Soon this twisted world will fade away and the true world will be reawakened!"

"Over our dead bodies!" Trevor yelled as he and Miranda charged.

"That can be arranged," Jessica said as she took out a pistol and shot at them.

The duo easily dodged the shots and continued to charge. Before their attacks could connect, Jessica somersaulted out of the way and fired off more rounds. When their attacks didn't work, they decided to change their tactics. Trevor fired a series of Fira spells while Miranda used her Zeninage technique. Jessica managed to dodged most of the fire spells, but the moment the Zeninage technique hit her, she flinched and the remaining fire spells made contact. The female cartoon recomposed herself and was about to fire her pistol when something hit her on the back of the head. Jessica looked down and saw and saw that it was a detached arm. A rabbit, covered in bandages, picked up the arm and reattached it to his body.

"Give back my friend's heart, you bad woman," the rabbit said trying his best to sound authoritative.

"That's right," said a female deer standing next to the rabbit. "You have no right stealing other people's hearts." A very nervous cartoon dog to the right of her just silently nodded his head.

"Who are they?" Trevor questioned Miranda.

"They are Bonkers' cartoon friends: Fall-Apart Rabbit, Fawn Deer, and Jitters A. Dog," the cop enlightened the keyblader.

"I have no right to steal the bobcat's heart, you say?" Jessica sneered at Fawn Deer. "But you're wrong; I have _every_ right!" The cartoon woman unleashed a power wave that cause everyone to fall down (expect Fall-Apart Rabbit, who's body fell apart into pieces).

Trevor quickly got back up and tried to rush her, but Jessica blocked the attack. "You give back his heart!" he shouted.

"Make me," she hissed as she backed away. "Why risk your life for some washed-up out of work toon actor? What makes him so special?"

"Because he is our friend," Miranda answered. "And because of that, we will always fight for him."

"That's right," Fall-Apart Rabbit said putting himself together with the help of Jitters. "We will stand by his side no matter what!"

Bonkers' heart in Jessica's hand began to fluctuate, and she tried to maintain her hold on it. "No, I won't lose!" She tried to hold on, but the heart floated away. "NO!" she screamed as it fluttered back to its owner.

The heart went inside the cartoon bobcat's body and Bonkers yawned like he woken up from a nice nap. "*yawn* Happy birthday! … Wait a minute, why did I say that? It's not even my catchphrase."

"BONKERS!" everyone yelled in jubilation and dog-piled on the bobcat. "We thought we lost you," Miranda said hugging Bonkers tightly.

"Miranda…I can't breathe…," Bonkers choked as he struggled for air.

The cop released her bear hug, a bit embarrassed, but happy to see her partner all right.

"How can this be?" Jessica yelled. "How is this possible?"

Trevor didn't understand it himself, but he had a theory. "Our friendship with Bonkers brought his heart back to his body. That's the one thing I have learned on this journey; if you have friends that care for you, nothing is impossible."

"How touching…," Jessica sneered with great abhorrence. "Well then,… I guess it's time for Plan B." She drove into the keyhole disappearing from sight.

"Miranda, we have to go after her!" Trevor yelled as he raced for the keyhole.

The blonde nodded then turned to Fawn Deer. "Watch over Bonkers, okay?" The cartoon deer nodded and Miranda entered the keyhole along with Trevor.

Entering the keyhole of the world was the strangest sensation that Trevor and Miranda has ever felt. It was the feeling of freefall with millions of millions of beams of light coming from all directions. The strangest part was, you had no sense of direction and couldn't tell if you were falling down, up, or sideways. But at last, they landed on what seems to be ground. It was impossible to tell where the ground began and where the sky started. Their whole surroundings were filled with gradients of various colors, melting and bending in with one another.

A few feet in font of them (or what they perceive as being only a few feet) they saw Jessica and the heart of the world. The heart was the size of a two-story building and glow with a bright pink light. It did not move, but the light it emitted seems to pulsate.

"Beautiful…," Jessica said staring at the heart with awe. "Simply beautiful…"

"Stay away from it!" Miranda yelled as she and Trevor raced toward her. She and Trevor quickly discovered that what they thought was only a few feet away, was actually several yards away.

"I couldn't get my husband's heart…," the female cartoon began, not talking to anyone specific. "But maybe my heart and memories are enough…to bring back my world." She held both hands over her heart and reached deep inside her chest. She pulled out her own heart and offered it to the world like it was a sacrifice.

"Don't do it!" Trevor yelled, but it was too late.

"Bring back my world…," Jessica softly spoke with a tear running down her cheek. Her heart merged with the heart of the world and their surroundings shook violently.

Trevor saw the colors that surrounded them were faded into shades of gray, black, and white. The heart of the world itself seem to pulsate more violently and its color darken to a shade of a rich, deep gray with swirls of black smoke encircling it. Jessica's body faded away and all that was left of her was her blue cloak.

"Trevor!" Miranda screamed in horror. The keyblader turned to the cop's direction and saw that she fading away.

Trevor tried to scream her name, but no sound came out. An eerie, dark silence had befallen upon them and it was deafening. The monotone colors rush by them at blazing speed. The keyblader blinked once and Miranda was gone, he blinked a second time and was surrounded by never-ending white. The third time he blinked, he was in total darkness.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke lying next to a gutter, drenching wet. Heavy rain was falling out of the sky and he had a terrible headache. He looked around him and saw he wasn't in the _Downtown Beat_ anymore, but some other world. The keyblader was in the middle of an empty city made of buildings that looked old and lifeless. There were no modern buildings such as skyscrapers and everything looked dull and gray. There was color to the city, but it was like the world was covered by a gray hue blanket.

The keyblader staggered to his feet and for the first time he notice he wasn't in his regular clothes. He had on a gray zoot suit with a gold watch chain and a large brim hat on. Trevor slowly remembered what happened and it seemed like those memories were from ages ago. "What happened here?" he thought out loud. "Did Jessica succeed?"

It would seem so; there was no trace of Bonkers' world. Trevor looked around and saw that Miranda was no longer with him. He quickly remembered that she vanished before his eyes after Jessica merged her heart with the heart of the world. "I guess, I'm alone now."

As the keyblader walk the streets of the unnamed city, the rain let up and he noticed how odd his surroundings were. Some of the buildings were incomplete, as if the construction workers gave up on finishing their project. For some buildings some parts of the second story was gone, others the left side of the apartment wasn't there. Then there was some building that had a second and third story, but the first floor was missing leaving the top of the building to float in midair.

This was all very strange, but the eeriest part was that the city was empty; not a soul in sight. Trevor was about to give up on all hope, but then he saw someone. Leaning on a lamppost on the corner of the intersecting streets of Hollywood and Vine was a cartoon wolf wearing a tuxedo.

"Hey, mister," Trevor called out. "Can you tell me where I am?"

The wolf glanced at the keyblader for a split second and then turned away. "You're at Hollywood and Vine, kid," he answered. "Now beat it."

"No I mean what city I'm in."

"How should I know, I'm just a memory."

"A memory?"

The wolf look really annoyed now. "Look kid, all I know is that this world is made up of incomplete memories. If you want answers, try the Ink and Paint Club down the street there. Wheezy there might be able to help you."

The keyblader thanked the wolf and headed down the street. The Ink and Paint Club was a large white (or at least, it looked white) building. Trevor cautiously entered the building saw that it was an empty nightclub. The only person in there was a blue cartoon weasel drinking whisky at the bar.

"Are you Wheezy?" Trevor asked as he approached the weasel.

The blue weasel looked up at the keyblader. The cartoon was wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest and tie along with a whitish mashed bowler hat. He was smoking a cigarette and was apparently a chain smoker since the ashtray near him was full of recently smoked cigarette buds. "Who wants to know?" he said warily.

"Uh, I'm Trevor," the keyblader began, but before he could continue Wheezy stopped him.

"So you're the keyblader, huh?" Wheezy turned his attention back to his drink. "I guess you survive then."

"Survive what?"

"Survive the process of the world turning back to normal."

"So this world is Jessica's world? What _The Downtown Beat_ used to be?"

Wheezy nodded. "This world is called _Big City Noir_, however it's still incomplete."

"What you mean incomplete? I thought this is what Jessica wanted."

"Not exactly… She used her heart and not the heart of the hero. Because of that this world is fragmented. Only the heart of the hero can fully restore this world."

"A while ago, I was talking to a wolf who said he was a memory."

"Because the world is incomplete, anyone you run into this world is a memory," Wheezy explained. "Everything here is made up of Jessica's memory of her world including the people. Her memories weren't powerful enough to bring back all of the lost souls that belong to this world, so the world just populate itself with shadows. So you see, none of us (with the exception of you) are real."

Trevor was lost in thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to bring back Bonkers' world. "Do you think if I separate Jessica's heart with the heart of the world, things will turn back to normal?"

The weasel shrugged. "Could be, but how should I know? I'm just a memory."

"Memory or not, you have to tell me where the heart of the world might be located."

Wheezy thought for a moment, "Hmm, it might be in at Eddie Valiant's office."

"Eddie Valiant?"

"He runs a detective agency that caters to us toons. It's in the tall apartment building a few blocks from here, you can't miss it."

"Thanks," Trevor said gratefully and went on his way.

The keyblader got lost on his way twice, but he finally found the building. Huge chunks of the building were missing and it looked like a death trap. Nevertheless, Trevor worked up his courage and entered the building. He climbed a flight of stairs and almost fell off because there was no railing, but finally he made it to the second floor. Trevor approached the office of Eddie Valiant and opened the door. Instead of finding an office he found an unending white void. He stepped into the empty space and had a look around. For a couple of minutes of wandering, he found the heart of the world along with somebody else.

"So, who are you," the mysterious figure asked. It wore a black Organization XIII coat and its hood was up so you couldn't see its face.

"I could ask you the same thing," Trevor responded. "How did you find your way here?"

The figure did not answer his question. "You're Trevor, is that correct?" The person removed the hood and Trevor was shocked to see who it was.

"You…you're Jessica!"

"I remember that name," the figure said. "But if I recall correctly she gave up her heart, which means I'm her Nobody. So referring me as Jessica is not quite accurate."

"Whatever, why are you here?"

"That's a good question…," the Nobody said lost in thought. "I suppose it's because this world is still incomplete. Maybe your heart can complete this world."

"That's crazy!" Trevor yelled as he summoned his keyblade. "It will never work!"

"I will find a way to make to work!" Jessica's Nobody summoned two pistols and fired them at the keyblader. Trevor dodged out of the way and cast Thundara and it was a direct hit. The Nobody shook off the pain and rushed at Trevor with guns a blazing. Unfortunately, Trevor took several hits and had to cast Cura on himself, but he was back in the game. He tried to close the distance between them with a series of swift attacks, but she evaded every one of them. The Nobody then fired off several huge bolts of light which the keyblader block by casting Shell.

"Give up keyblader," the Nobody mocked. "Jessica particularly succeeded, so what's the point of fighting?"

"Because I will never give up on my friends," Trevor responded. "I will bring them and their world back!"

"Open your eyes," the Nobody ridiculed. "This is the true world, it's just incomplete. But I will fix that. Everyone that has been lost in the darkness I will bring them back!" She started to power up for a final attack; swirls of dark energy twisting around her.

Trevor also prepared for his final attack; gather up all of the light in heart and concentrate it in his keyblade. "You will not succeed: **FAITH!**" Trevor levitated in the air and emitted a white light. Several beams of light descend from the sky and struck Jessica's Nobody. The Nobody collapsed in a heap and Trevor ran over to the heart of the world.

The keyblader raised his weapon and fired a beam of light at the heart. The heart started to pulsate and produced Jessica's heart. The heart floated back to the Nobody and Jessica became whole again.

"Curses," the toon said in a low quiet voice as she started to fade away. "I was so close… But I guess you were simply better than me."

"It's not about who is better, it's about doing what is right," Trevor knelt besides her.

"I just wanted to see my husband again…," she sighed as body was almost completely gone. "Take care of Bonkers for me; I hate for anything to happen to my husband's heart." Trevor nodded. "Don't look at me like that… I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way." With her final words, Jessica faded from existence.

Trevor's surroundings started to change; everything was shifting into darkness. The keyblader tried to fight it, but it was like his body was caught in the wind. As he was rushed forward, he saw a faint light up ahead. The light grew bigger and bigger until he could make out the shape; it was keyhole. He passed through the keyhole and landed in front of the police station on the world _The Downtown Beat_. He was wearing he normal clothes again and Miranda and Bonkers were there to greet him.

"Trevor!" the blonde cop said shocked. "What happened? One minute I was with you in the keyhole and the next I'm here with Bonkers."

"I will explain later," Trevor said as he turned around and locked the keyhole. "There, now no one could mess with your world again."

"So, what happened in there?" Bonkers inquired.

Before Trevor could answer, Chief Kanifky came up. "Guys, I got the coffee!" he exclaimed. "And it's not decaf!"

"Wonderful… I'm so thrilled," Trevor said mildly.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back in the Heart of Gold, Trevor was explaining everything that happened to him when Jessica temporarily changed the world. They declined Chief Kanifky's offer to give them medals and a parade in their honor, but they said that they were in a hurry. They desperately wanted to travel to the world, _The Big Apple_, so they could have another chance to stop the Forsaken. When Trevor finished telling his story, Miranda sighed.

"So there was some truth to what the Forsaken had been saying all this time," she said quietly as she sat down. "But that means, me and Bonkers…everyone in our world is not suppose to exist."

"That's not true," Trevor rebutted. "Every life is important. There is a reason why you and Bonkers exist!"

"But what about Roger and Jessica?" Bonkers asked in a surprisingly serious tone. "When Jessica stole my heart, for a split second I had access to memories that wasn't mine. And from them, it appears that Jessica was right; I am just a distorted version of a cartoon called Roger Rabbit. Maybe it would have been better if Jessica had succeeded…"

"Don't say that! We will find a way for shadow worlds and their original worlds to coexist."

"How?" Miranda said feeling extremely tired. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"By going to Kingdom Hearts," the keyblader said. Miranda and Bonkers ears prick up and stared at Trevor dumbfounded. "The way I see it, that Kingdom Hearts is the Heart of all worlds, right? Maybe we can find a way to alter that Heart so everyone can coexist. So, what do you think?"

"To be honest, I don't know what to say…," Miranda said thinking it over. "I don't think the other keybladers are going to like your plan."

"So what? It's not about them liking it; it's about doing what's right."

"True," Bonkers nodded. "But how are we going to access Kingdom Hearts?"

"That I haven't figured it out," Trevor admitted. "But most likely we will be using the Infinite Improbability Drive."

"Ugh," Miranda grunted as her heart dropped. "I hate using that thing."

"Yeah," Trevor said in agreement. "But first thing's first. We have to stop Naraku and the Forsaken, and only after that we look for a way to get into Kingdom Hearts. Deal?" The keyblader stretched out his hand. Miranda and Bonkers smiled at one another and piled their hands on top of Trevor's.

"Deal," they said in agreement.

**Next Chapter: Trevor's Mark of Mastery**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Jessica Rabbit: Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)_ Although, technically she first appeared in the novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit" in 1981_

Jessica's Nobody(OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Chief Kanifky: Bonkers(1993)

Fall-Apart Rabbit: Bonkers(1993)

Fawn Deer: Bonkers(1993)

Jitters A. Dog: Bonkers(1993)

The Wolf: Many Tex Avery Cartoons

Wheezy: Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)

**Author's Notes: Before you say anything, I know that Fall-Apart Rabbit doesn't appear in the Miranda episodes of Bonkers. I just really want him to make a cameo appearance in the fanfiction. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will come out soon, so stay tuned.**


	22. Trevor's Mark of Mastery

**Author's Notes: I am so sorry that it took me this long to update. I had been busy with school and haven't found the time to write anything. But worry no more, here's a new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 21: Trevor's Mark of Mastery**

Yuko Ichihara was in a secluded, dark room deep within her shop. She had her keyblade in her hands and stared at three mirrors that she leaned against the wall. The three mirrors were about five feet in length and lined up in a row. The outer mirrors were position portrait-wise, while the middle mirror was set up in a landscape style. On the outer right mirror an image of Trevor appeared, while on the outer left an image of Kyle emerged. On the middle mirror, a floating heart made its appearance and slowing drifted toward the mirror with the image of Kyle.

"I don't have much time," Yuko said. "Kyle's will is stronger than Trevor's and if this continues Trevor will disappear." The witch raised her keyblade and shot a beam of light at mirrors. The mirrors lit up and magic runes appeared in the air. "It's time to have the first part of the Mark of Mastery," she said with a smile before vanishing in a bright light.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor was still in the Gold of Heart, awaiting their arrival to the world _The Big Apple_. Because he and Miranda (mostly Miranda) have a deep mistrust of the Infinite Improbability Drive, they have to take the long way to reach the world. Since it will be several hours before they reach the world, the keyblader decided to spend the time in his room.

He laid on his bed and reflected on his journey so far. Besides locking a few worlds, he was disappointed that he didn't accomplish anything big yet. He haven't stopped his brother, he haven't defeated Naraku, and he haven't convinced Vincent to stop what he was doing. He tried to think of ways to improve his tactics, but his mind was clouded and he couldn't think straight. Soon, he was fast asleep.

**KH-KH-KH**

The keyblader found himself wandering in a void of darkness. "How did I get here?" he wondered out loud.

"Trevor, can you hear me?" a voice from the darkness called out to him.

Trevor recognized the voice and was shocked. "Yuko? Where are you? What is this place?"

"So you don't recognize it?" Yuko's voice floated in the darkness. "You of all people should know where we are."

"Are you telling me I've been here before? There's nothing, but darkness here."

"Why don't you open your eyes and see this place for what it truly is."

Trevor didn't understand what the witch was saying; his eyes were already open. _'I have to think about this,'_ he thought. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. _'Have I been in total darkness before? Only in my nightmares… I wonder if this is one?'_ He thought further of what this place could be. _'…Still, this place feels like a dream. Come to think of it, this place does feel familiar.'_ He then put two and two together and realized where he was. Trevor opened his eyes and saw that he was at the Station of Awakening. "This is the dream that I had before I started my journey."

"Not exactly," Yuko said walking up to him. "If we must be specific then we are located inside your heart."

"Inside my heart?" Trevor said as he looked around. The stained glass mural on the floor was the same one he saw in his dream before his adventure. It was the white mural with the menagerie of characters on it. He looked closer at the mural he was standing on and saw that one part of it had changed. The image of the sandy blond, young man was now gone and his own image was there in its replacement. "But why bring me here?"

"Because we have important business to attend to," the witch said. "I'm not going to lie to you. There is more going on in the universe besides Naraku and the Forsaken. Someone, that those of us who watches over the universe thought was gone forever, has returned."

"And who is that?"

"Trust me when I say, he's bad news. To prepare you for the upcoming fight it has been decided that I must make you into a keyblade master."

"You mean I'm going to take the Mark of Mastery exam?" Trevor doesn't remember much of his past and what his father told him about the keyblade, but he knows of the exam. "But I don't think I'm ready for such an exam."

"Too bad, you have to be," Trevor turned around and saw his Bleak grinning like a fox. "Hello again me," it laughed as it leaned against its dark keyblade, "How's tricks?"

"You!" Trevor summoned his keyblade expecting the worst.

The Bleak just shook his head and waved his hand. "Oh, it's not me you should worry about; it's him." The Bleak pointed to the other end of the mural where another figure was standing.

The figure turned around revealing himself as Kyle Birch. "Dude, where am I?" he said shocked.

"Good, all the players are present," Yuko said as she walked over to Kyle. "Kyle, did you know why you are here?"

Kyle, needless to say, was confused. "Dude, where am I? It feels so familiar…"

"You are at the Station of Awakening," Yuko explained. "A place that can only be found in the deepest regions of a person's heart."

"Okay…," Kyle scratched his head even more confused. "So, … why am I here?"

"The same reason why Trevor is here; to take the Mark of Mastery exam."

"Trevor…, who is-?" Kyle finally saw Trevor and quickly summoned his keyblade. "You?" he shouted. "You're the guy from my nightmares!"

"Your nightmares?" Trevor shouted back while pointing his keyblade at him, "You are in _my_ nightmares! Just who are you?"

"Trevor, meet Kyle who you share your heart with. Kyle, this is Trevor who you are linked to," the witch introduced the two keybladers to each other.

"So, my brother was right," Trevor said, but never lowering his keyblade. "I do have a shadow being; an other."

"Shadow being?" Kyle hated to be left out in the dark. "What the hell is a shadow being?"

"That's you kid," Trevor's Bleak said to Kyle. "You see, Trevor's world awhile back got overrun with Heartless and was lost to the darkness. It was brought back, but the world itself was altered. _The Land of Still Meadows_ had become the _City of Lost Angels_ and you were created to be Trevor's replacement. But our boy, Trevor here, has somehow survived, forcing the both of you to share the same heart."

"Meaning what exactly?" the sandy blond keyblader asked still befuddled.

"It means that you were never supposed to exist," Yuko answered flatly. Kyle stumbled back a little bit shocked, but the witch continued to explain unaffected by the keyblader's reaction. "In a sense, you and Trevor are the same person. Think of yourself as Trevor if he has grown up in a different environment; an alternate Trevor. And…unfortunately, only one of you can live."

"What the hell are you talking about Yuko?" Trevor yelled. "What do you mean by-"

"Isn't obvious?" Trevor's Bleak interrupted. "You two share the same heart and are basically the same person. This is a paradox; the universe cannot have two 'Trevors' occupying the same space. So slowly, the universe itself was transferring your memories into Kyle. That is the main reason why you have amnesia, Trevor; because Kyle stole your memories."

"The universe has chose Kyle to be the 'Trevor' of this universe," the witch added. "But you are putting up a good fight. However, if this continues, you will fade away forever and all memory of you will be erased; only Kyle will remain."

"So why bring us both here?" Kyle asked. "Why would you tell us such horrible things?"

"Because for one of you to live, the other must die. So I decided that your Mark of Mastery should be a fight to the death."

"WHAT?" both keybladers screamed in unison.

"Making Trevor a keyblade master will do the universe no good if he fades away. One of you must take ownership of this heart so you can help Sora and the other keybladers defend against the coming onslaught. The one with the strongest will to live will earn the right to live and the title of master."

"That's not fair!" Trevor shouted. "There must be a way for me and Kyle to coexist!"

"I'm sorry, but I search and there is no other way," Yuko said silently. "So, if both of you value your life and don't want to fade away, you will fight each other."

Kyle and Trevor looked at each other and then back at the witch. Trevor then looked back at his Bleak. "So, what do you get out of it?" he asked the dark soul.

The Bleak shrugged. "I just go where the heart goes. After all, the heart is the seat of the soul; and I am a dark soul. Although, if I have to choose, I rather stay with you, because if Kyle wins, I will be forced to alter myself. And personally, I like the way I am." The dark soul flashed a wicked smiled. "So trash that punk for me."

"NO WAY!" Kyle yelled summoning his keyblade. "I'm not going to sit back and fade away!"

"Nobody has to fade away," Trevor tried to reason with his double. "We can find a way to coexist."

"But you heard the witch," Kyle rebutted, "No such way exist. Besides, you had a good run in this life, but now it's my turn!" Kyle rushed at Trevor putting his whole strength into that one attack.

Trevor managed to block the attack, but barely. He was surprised by Kyle's strength and was almost crushed by the attack. Before Kyle could attack again, Trevor dodge-rolled out of the way and fired a Firaga spell. Kyle didn't have enough time to dodge the spell, but blocked it just in the nick of time and reflected it.

"I don't want to hurt you dude, but this is the way it's gotta be," Kyle said when he reflected the spell.

"Then don't hurt me!" Trevor yelled as he fired off a round of Thundaga.

Kyle wasn't the fastest keyblader around, so most of the spells hit him. Lucky for him, he had a high defense and was able to survive the onslaught. He charged at Trevor again, but his double was too fast for him. Trevor kept dodging and evading his attacks, making it difficult for him to hit him. He would like to use spells on the other keyblader, but he doesn't know that many. Instead, he focused all of his mana into his keyblade and brought it crashing down into the mural. "**Ground Dasher!**" he yelled as he unleashed his attack.

Trevor dodged the blow, but the shockwaves the attack unleashed hit him. He knew he couldn't take another hit from another shockwave attack. The keyblader knew he had to end this now and thought about using his Drive Forms. Trevor wondered if he could use those forms without Bonkers or Miranda. In the end, he concluded it was worth a shot. "**Aviator Drive Form!**" he shouted. In a burst of light, he transformed into his alternate form and gathered enough mana for his next attack. "Fira Burst!" he unleashed a series of large fireballs at Kyle who couldn't dodge the attack. Trevor knew he would have to work quickly since this Drive Form decreases his defense.

Kyle knew he was about to lose the battle, when Trevor entered his Drive Form. He was trying to hit the keyblader, but Trevor was too fast for him, always out of reach. As he was being pummeled by spells, something inside of him snapped. In a flash of light, he'd transformed. Kyle was now wearing a red bandana with a torn blue vest. He was also wearing light cargo pants with heavy black boots. His keyblade transformed too; it was in the shape of a cannon and the 'teeth' of the keyblade was a propeller. The keyblade's name, _'Scourge of the Skies,'_ danced in his head as he realized that he was in a Drive Form. "**Air Pirate Drive Form!**" he yelled triumphantly as he rushed over to Trevor.

Needless to say, Trevor was surprised. He didn't expect Kyle to have a Drive Form. He noticed that Kyle's new form gave him a speed boost just like his did, and quickly evaded the attack and took for the air. The keyblader looked down and saw that Kyle was following him into the air; Kyle's new form also gave him the power of flight. Shocked, Trevor fired a Thundaga spell. Kyle dodged the spell and fired off a massive fireball from the cannon part of his keyblade. Trevor barely managed to evade the spell, counter with Firaga, but it missed.

The two keybladers clashed in the air trying to get the upper hand on the other. Kyle was impressed with the powers his new form gave him, but he still couldn't defeat Trevor. He fired off another round of cannon fire, but his opponent evaded the attacks. As Trevor dodge the last round of cannon fire, Kyle managed to sneak up behind and sent the other keyblader crashing down to earth.

Trevor's whole body ached with pain as he staggered up. He didn't have time to worry about his pain; he saw Kyle coming for him and rolled out of the way. The keyblader cast a quick Cura spell and then decided to use another Drive Form. "**Buccaneer Drive Form!**" he shouted and transformed. When Kyle charged at him again, he was able to parry the attack, create an opening in his opponent's defense, and successfully landed some combos bringing Kyle down to his knees.

Just when he thought Trevor had bested him, Kyle felt a new strength flow within him. He raised his keyblade up high and transform in another brilliant flash of flash. "**Naval Officer Drive Form!**" he said with confidence, feeling that victory was at hand. Kyle was now wearing an old-fashion British naval uniform, complete with a powder wig. His keyblade transformed again, with the teeth of the blade in the shape a royal crown. The overall design of the keyblade had a regal design to it, especially the guard the blade which was in the shape of a shield. The keyblade's name _'The Glory of the Queen'_ floated in his head as he raised it in a ready position. He rushed Trevor and the two went at it with the skills of expert swordsmen.

"How is this possible?" Trevor asked amazed that Kyle's new Drive Form was on par with his own. "How are you mimicking my Drive Forms?"

Kyle didn't have an answer for him, but his Bleak did. "Isn't it obvious?" the dark soul sighed. "You and Kyle are two sides of the same coin, remember? So any Drive Form you learned, Kyle also learns a similar Drive Form and vice versa. Nearly every technique you know, Kyle also knows."

This was horrible news for Trevor. The two keybladers seem evenly matched with the exception of Trevor's speed and Kyle's strength. After ten minutes, no one seemed to gain the upper hand, until Kyle managed to trip Trevor, and pin him down with his foot on Trevor's chest. Kyle kicked the other's keyblade away and pointed his own keyblade at Trevor's face.

"Dude, I'm afraid this is game over," Kyle sighed, but still determined to finish off his opponent.

Trevor stared at the keyblade pointed at him and for the first time in his life felt genuine fear. The thought of his life ending was too much to gasp, knowing that he was experiencing his last moments on Earth. As Kyle raised his keyblade to prepare the final bow, something snapped within Trevor; he can't die like this, not pinned down on his back like a coward. He stretched out his hand and his keyblade reappeared. With one swing, he pushed Kyle off him, so he was able to get up.

Kyle was dumbfounded. He thought that he had surely won. "Why do you keep on fighting?" he asked. "Why do you continue to believe that your existence is still relevant to the universe?"

"It doesn't matter if my existence is relevant or not," Trevor simply stated. "There are people out there who still need my help: Bonkers, Miranda, Vincent, my brother… and," Trevor felt a warm, golden feeling rising from the depths of his heart. "And the person most important to me… Hailey!"

The stained glass mural that they were on gave off a brilliant white glow and after a few seconds flashed. When the light faded, the mural transformed. The major color of the new mural was sky blue and at the center of the picture was a young woman with flowing blonde hair seated in a background of lush greenery. Above her head, forming a pseudo-halo, were mini portraits of Bonkers, Miranda, Vincent, Zackary, Matthew, and Ginger.

"It looks like I have been found," said a familiar voice. Trevor turned around and saw Hailey smiling at him. "I knew that you would remember me, Trevor."

"Hailey…," the keyblader started before Hailey punched him twice on the shoulder. "Ow! What was that for?"

"The first one was for forgetting about me in the first place," she pouted. "The second one is for not remembering me sooner."

"It's not like I had any choice in the matter," Trevor rubbed his sore shoulder.

"How touching," Kyle huffed. "But remembering a lost girlfriend doesn't solve our 'little' problem."

Trevor turned back around and pointed his keyblade at Kyle. As he does so, memories from his past started to unearth themselves and made their presence known. Trevor was beginning to remember everything about his past. He straighten himself up and with a clear, commanding, regal voice he said, "My name is Trevor Birch, son of Matthew Birch and descendent of the keybladers who guard the twilight realms. As surely as both light and darkness can coexist in the twilight realms, I will find a way for original worlds and their shadow worlds to coexist. Moreover, in doing so, people like you and I do not have to fight one another just to justify their existence. Stand down Kyle, and together we can find a solution."

"And if I don't stand down?" Kyle questioned.

"Then I shall strike you down."

Kyle tossed his hair back and laughed. "I would like to see you try! I refused to fade away because of you!" He then charged at Trevor putting his whole being in his next attack.

"You should have heeded my warning," Trevor said as he was gathering up mana. Before Kyle could get too close, Trevor cast his spell. "_Ultima,_" he simply said. The juggernaut of a spell hit Kyle and sent the offending keyblader flying backwards. Then, the surrounding area seem to become brighter and brighter, and soon everything became white.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor awoke with a start, alone in his cabin. He looked around his room as if he was making sure he was actually there. "It was all just a dream," he sighed. "But still…," he questioned himself. "The dream felt very real…" He thought about it before deciding what to do. "I better tell Miranda about this; she would want to know."

**KH-KH-KH**

Kyle was breathing heavily in his bed after waking up from his nightmare. He crutched his head in pain as he could feel his memories slip away from him. "This isn't over, Trevor," he swore under his breath. "I will justify my existence…, even if I have to destroy you to do it."

**KH-KH-KH**

Yuko let out a long sigh when she returned from the depths of Trevor and Kyle's heart. Looking at the middle mirror in the room, she saw that the heart was in the exact middle of the mirror. "So both Trevor and Kyle now have the exact same desire to live and to see their missions through to the end." She flashed a wily smile to no one in particular and chuckled softly. "Good, just like I planned."

She began storing various items away and made a mental list of everything she will need for her upcoming trip in a couple of weeks. Part one of Trevor's Mark of Mastery was over and she was planning what to do for the second part when a realization struck her. "When this is over, Trevor, Sora, and Riku may not be the only new keyblade masters… We have two more in the making."

**Next Chapter: The Sky is Falling!…(Again!)**


	23. The Sky is Falling Again!

**Author's Notes: Sorry, it took so long to update, but now it's summertime and hopefully I will be updating frequently.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 22: The Sky is Falling!…(Again!)**

Sasuke Uchiha was sitting on top of a building overlooking the _City of Lost Angels_. He could see that the people down below was slowly rebuilding the college campus that the Heartless and Bleak almost completely destroyed some time ago. The ninja was tired of waiting for his superior, and wanted to have a chance to bring back his world. Sasuke felt two presences behind him and knew whom they were.

"So it's you and that annoying pet of yours," Sasuke said indifferently. "Did Zackary found Kyle?"

"HEY YOU!" screeched the crow peered on the hooded figure right shoulder. "I'M NOBODY'S PET, YOU GOT THAT!"

"Calm down Kir," the figure said as he removed his blue hood. "You know Sasuke; always has to be the instigator."

"That may be fine for you, Jing," Kir continued, "But you weren't the one who was insulted!"

"You didn't answer my question," Sasuke said impatiently as he stood up. "Did Zachary complete his mission?"

"Afraid not," Jing said with complete indifference. "It looks like Kyle was left this world entirely. So now Zackary has to track him down all across the universe. I hate to be in his shoes."

"I would rather be in Zackary's than yours," Sasuke huffed. "You failed your mission."

"Oh come on, surely I can get points for almost succeeding."

"'Almost' is still a failure."

"Jeez, you are in sour mood," Jing huffed.

"He has other moods?" Kir questioned.

"How was I supposed to know that when Trevor defeated Vash's Bleak that my target's soul, heart, and body will become one again?" Jing explained. "I didn't expect that keybladers had that kind of power."

"One should be prepared for anything so the mission can be completed without a hitch," the teenage ninja brooded.

"I'm the kind of guy who improvises," Jing admitted.

"I don't think that's entirely true."

"You caught me Sasuke," Jing threw his hands in the air in jest. "If fact, I'm planning my biggest heist yet."

The ninja eyed the thief suspiciously. One could easily underestimate the thieving duo, but Sasuke wasn't that type of person. He knew when Jing and Kir say something they usually mean it. "What are you two planning?"

"Like we're going to tell you," Kir huffed.

Unfortunately for the crow, Jing completely ignored him and did the opposite of his intensions. "We are going to steal Trevor's keyblade."

At first Sasuke didn't know what to think. He went from disbelieve, to a smirk, and finally a low laugh. "That's impossible," he stated. "You cannot steal such an object."

"Who says?" Jing questioned. "I am the King of Bandits, there's nothing in the universe that I can't steal."

"You two should be concentrating on getting your world back," the ninja chastised. "The way you two are acting, it's like you don't want your world to come back."

Jing and Kir smiled. "It's not like we are in a big rush or anything," the thief explained. "There's a whole universe out there that's filled with all kinds of treasures for us to steal."

"And a universe full of women waiting to be loved by me," Kir added with a sly smile.

"Bringing back our world can wait," Jing added, "but stealing the most powerful weapon in the universe can't."

Sasuke looked away in disgust; he couldn't believe the nonsense he was hearing. "If you want the keyblade so bad, why don't you ask Zackary to perform Reserve Osmosis on you?"

"A _fake_ keyblade?" the bandit huffed. "A mere derivative? That won't do. I can only be satisfied with the original."

"You know Zackary wasn't going to be happy with your plan," Sasuke warned. "You know how protective he is about his brother."

"We are only going to steal the kid's weapon, not his life," Kir sneered.

"So there is no need to worry," Jing added.

Sasuke just sighed and looked over the side of the building. He quickly spotted Zackary headed toward them sporting an angry look. No doubt the keyblader was angry about having to track Kyle down. "Do whatever you want," the ninja said silently to the thief and the crow. "Just don't get in my way."

"That never crossed my mind," Jing smirked.

**KH-KH-KH**

It was a silent, humid night in a far-off world somewhere among the stars. The townspeople had settled in for the night exhausted from the day's activities. Beneath a mighty oak tree several small lights appeared and merged together to form a corridor of light. Kairi cautiously stepped out of the portal and into the new world. It was her first time venturing out in a new world by herself and needless to say, she was a bit nervous. As the corridor closed behind her she noticed that her form had changed. She as now an anthropomorphic tabby and guessed that this world was populated with animals instead of humans. Kairi looked to her left and saw a sign that had the name of the town printed on it. _Oakey Oaks: Best Acorns in the Universe_ the sign read.

The keyblader had little time to absorb all of the sights and sounds of the small town. A cold chill ran down her spine and a small swarm of Heartless appeared. "So the Heartless are here as well," Kairi said as she summoned her keyblade. The Heartless looked like a hybrid of Neoshadow, Bad Dog, and Possessor Heartless. They were the size of a medium sized dog, had long antennae for ears like the Neoshadow, and seem to be made up of nothing, but black smoke like the Possessors. They stared at the keyblader with their cold, dead, yellow eyes waiting for someone to make their move.

Unfortunately for them, someone else made a move. A baseball hit one of the Heartless right between its eyes destroying it. Kairi made use of this opportunity and attacked the rest of the Heartless. One of the Heartless managed to sneak up on her and tried to attack her from behind. Before the creature of darkness could attack her, a small chicken leapt from behind the tree and destroyed the Heartless.

Kairi turned around just in time to see the small chicken wipe out the Heartless. "Thanks," the keyblader said as she continued attacking the Heartless.

"No problem," the chicken said as he dodged an attack. "I just can't believe the Heartless are attacking again."

"Maybe the Heartless outbreak is related to that strange hexagon we found," a girl duck said standing a good distance away from the brawl with a large overweight pig, and a fish wearing a helmet full of water.

"There's no end to this," the chicken said as more Heartless came out of the shadows.

"Hold on," Kairi said as she gathered up her mana. "**Diaga!**" she shouted and a bright light emanated from her keyblade. The light engulfed the area and pierced through every creature of darkness. The Heartless gave up the ghost and released their hearts.

"Wow," the little chicken said in awe as he stared at Kairi. His attention then focused on her keyblade. "You're a keyblader? I knew a keyblader once, his name is Sora."

"You knew Sora?" Kairi sat down so she can meet the chicken at eye level. The young keyblader then knew who this chicken might be. "You're Chicken Little, aren't you? Sora said he summoned you a couple of times during his last adventure."

Chicken Little bushed, "It was no big deal… So you are friends with Sora?"

"I'm Sora's…" Kairi was about to said girlfriend, but stopped herself. She never confessed her feeling to Sora, nor Sora to her. "Yes, I'm one of Sora's friends," she corrected herself.

"What's going on here?" said the duck girl as she and two others came towards them.

"Hey Abby, this is Kairi. She's friends with the guy I've been telling you about. Kairi, this is Abby Mallard, Runt of the Litter, and Fish out of Water," Chicken Little introduced them.

"Hey," Kairi said to every one of them. She noticed that Abby Mallard wasn't… how can we put this…the prettiest of all the ducks she has met before. However, Kairi hoped that one day Abby will outgrow the awkward phase that she is in. The keyblade didn't understand how Runt got his name. He was the tallest one in the group and was even taller than Kairi herself. _'Surely he couldn't have sibling who were tallest or bigger then him,' _Kairi thought to herself.There was no denying it; Runt was as tall as he was wide. She also found it odd that Runt's voice was identical to PJ's. Her attention then turned to Fish out of Water. The strange fish appeared to be holding something heavy, but Kairi couldn't tell what it was. It appears to be nothing at all, but the keyblader can see that space was somewhat distorted near the fish and this 'invisible' object.

"Maybe you can help us the problem we are having," Chicken Little said to Kairi. "Ever since we found this mysterious object, the Heartless has been attacking everyone."

"What object?" the keyblader questioned.

"This object." Chicken Little went over to Fish out of Water, grabbed the invisible object, placed it in front of him, and seemed to have disappeared. After a few seconds an image of the small, young rooster appeared. Needless to say, Kairi was shocked and amazed. Chicken Little stepped from behind the object and rotated it so that everyone could see it more clearly. The object was a hexagon plate that can camouflage itself by displaying the scenery that is behind it.

"That's incredible," Kairi exclaimed as she picked it up. "Where did you get this?"

"It fell from the sky and hit me on the head," Chicken Little explained. "And it wasn't the first time too. The same happened a year ago and at first I thought the sky was falling. Only back then, the object disappeared before I could show anyone."

"Everyone thought that he was crazy," Runt added. "In fact, a lot of people still do."

"Runt!" Abby yelled as she elbowed the pig in the stomach.

"Well it's true," Runt tried to defend himself. "Even his own father, thinks he made the whole thing up." Runt quickly covered his mouth when he realized what he had just said and looked nervously toward Chicken Little.

"It's okay Runt. I have grown to accept that," the small rooster said sorrowfully.

"No you haven't," Abby said interrupting Chicken Little. "What you need is closure. You and your father need to talk things out, share your feelings, and show him this…whatever it is so you can prove to him that you have been right all along."

"I don't need closure with my father," the rooster protested. "All I need is to find out what the hexagon thing is."

Abby just shook her head. "Kairi, please tell Chicken Little that he needs closure so he can move on with his life."

Kairi wasn't really listening to the conversion, but examining the hexagon. "The technology doesn't appear to be from this world," she said to no one in particular. She flipped it over and saw the many circuits and microchips that helped power the plate. There was a small button on the center of the plate and she pressed it. The plate began to vibrate violently and the keyblader dropped it. Before it could hit the ground, the plate stopped in midair, and floated in the same way that bricks don't. "What the-?" Kairi said shocked.

Everyone was shocked, except Fish out of Water who gleefully jumped on the plate and rode it like a magic carpet. Suddenly, the plate rose a couple of feet in the air and dash along in the air to some unknown destination taking Fish along with it.

"It's getting away," Abby said pointing at the escaping plate.

"Quick, after it," both Kairi and Chicken Little exclaimed as they gave chase.

They followed the plate and Fish all over town until the hexagon stopped over a baseball field. As the group was entering the ballpark, Fish and the hexagon disappeared entirely. Then a single light appeared, then another one. The lights then spun in the night sky in a perfect loop. The wind swirled all around the group and the sky seemed to open up and reveal a giant spaceship that was about to land on their heads. Instinctively, the group of animals and Kairi rolled out of the way and hid in the nearest dugout. The spaceship landed perfectly in the middle of the baseball field and for a second seemed to have powered off. As Kairi watched from the dugout she could tell that the ship wasn't a gummiship that she recognized.

"Doesn't this kind of thing happen often?" she asked the animals. They didn't answer her, but shook their heads nervously.

Finally, the bottom center of the spaceship opened up and two mechanical octopus-like creatures came out. The strange aliens casually strolled out of the ballpark as if they were going for a walk, leaving their spaceship unattended.

"Poor Fish," Runt moaned when the aliens were out of sight. "He's probably stuffed and mounted like some intergalactic trophy! He's gone, man, gone!"

"No he isn't," Kairi said as she pointed to the top of the spaceship. Everyone looked up and saw Fish waving to them from a window in ship.

"Oh snap," was all that Chicken Little could say.

The four are them have quietly snuck on board the spaceship. As they wander the corridors of the vessel, they were amazed and fearful of all the alien technology that they encountered. Strange probes, cutting utensils, and unknown devices dotted across the hallway. Kairi and Chicken Little was leading the group (though, they didn't know where they were going), Abby was in the middle, and poor Runt who was scared out of his mind took up the rear.

Soon, they came in an intersection in the corridor and the group had a quick debate on which route should they take. In the middle of the argument, five Heartless floated through the intersection. Everyone took notice of this and prepared for an attack. The Heartless were low level Heartless (two Yellow Operas, and three Green Rhapsodies) and there were nothing to be worried about. When the Heartless took notice of them they scattered off in different directions like cockroaches when the kitchen light is turn on.

"So the Heartless and the aliens are connected somehow," said Chicken Little deduced. "That why they appeared when the hexagon plate did."

"I don't know," Kairi thought out loud. Something about the whole situation didn't sit right with her. "If this is the Heartless' ship, then why did they run away from us? You would think that they would try and defend their own ship."

A low growl came from behind them and the ground shook for a couple of seconds.

"Maybe the Heartless ran to summon reinforcements," Abby suggested, but despairingly hoped that she was wrong.

The whole group turned around and out of the shadows came forth a huge Heartless. The dark creature had a huge bulking body and looked like a miniature giant. Its dark purple clothes were torn and in some places badly stitched up together with the Heartless emblem tattooed on the top of its bald head. In its left hand was a weapon of sorts; it was shapeless, made up of nothing but wisps and black smoke. When the odd weapon does take shape for a few precious moments, it was in the shape of a giant claymore.

"What do we do now?" Abby asked.

"Run," Runt screamed and the group ran down the corridor to escape the foul creature.

The Heartless, however, was fast for something its size and was gaining on them. It raised its left hand and thrust it at the group. The shapeless weapon became a whip, wrapped itself around Runt's leg, and was dragging him toward the creature.

"Help!" Runt screamed like a girl and Kairi leapt into action.

"**Dia!**" the keyblader cast and fired a small sphere of light at the whip in hopes to sever it. However, when the light was on top of the whip, new strands appeared and destroyed it. In desperation to save her newfound friend, she tossed keyblade at the whip and made a direct hit. The whip was severed and the weapon became shapeless again.

This angered the Heartless to no end. It gave a loud cry and charged at them. Kairi re-summoned the keyblade and ordered the others to get behind her. Then a curious thing happen; the air vent above them opened and a red fox wearing a dark green suit and a matching fedora popped out and landed in front of them. The fox then pulled out a crossbow and fired upon the Heartless, knocking it down temporarily.

"The brighter the light, the darker the shadow," the fox said with an old English accent. "As a bearer of the key you should know that by now, love. If you want to defeat that blighter then Light magic spells will not be effective, young maiden."

Given the way the fox was dress Kairi was very suspicious of him. "Who are you?" she asked. "You are not a Bleak, are you?"

The fox laughed. "Ha! You believe that I'm a Bleak, do you now? You can relax, love, I'm not one of those dark creatures. My name is Robin, and rescuing damsels in distress is my specialty," Robin gave an elaborate bow.

"I'm not a damsel in distress!" Kairi insisted.

"Not from where I was sitting, maiden of the purest heart," Robin argued.

The keyblader took a step back in shock. "How do you know that I am one of the Princess of Heart?"

"I'm just a gentleman who along his travels picked up a few bits of information."

"What are you doing here anyway? You are not a part of any evil organization, are you?"

"Mmmm, am I part of any organisation of malicious intent?" Robin repeated the question as he thought out loud. "Well, that depends on your perspective, doesn't love?" The Heartless behind then slowly staggered back up, looking worse for wear, but dangerous as a wounded animal. "There's not much time," the fox said as he readied his crossbow. "Go down the corridor and make a left. You will find your fish friend there. I will stay here and fight this fiend."

"Why should we trust you?" the keyblader questioned.

"If you want to stay here and fight this behemoth with me, be my guest, love. But think of it this way, what chance do your fish friend have fighting the Heartless alone?"

Kairi bit her lower lip. She really didn't trust the fox, but she knew he was right. "Everyone, follow me," she said as she reluctantly followed Robin's advice. But unknown to the group, they were being followed by a small orange creature.

When everyone was gone, Robin lowered his weapon and smiled. "Good work," he said to the Heartless and with a snap of his fingers, the creature retreated in the shadows. "All the pieces are in play; soon my plan will be complete."

Kairi and the others ran down the hallway and turn left entering a huge room with filled with computer monitors and strange keyboards. In the center of the room, Fish out of Water was there waving gleefully at them.

"Fish!" Chicken Little, Abby, and Runt rejoiced.

"Are you okay? Say something," Abby say as she tabbed the glass on Fish's helmet.

"Don't tap the glass, they hate it when you do that," Chicken Little warned. "Now we can get out of this crazy place."

"Uh, guys…," Runt gave a tiny squeak as he pointed to a giant computer screen. Everyone looked up and saw the screen displaying the whole solar system. All of the outer planets were crossed off and a large circle was put around the Earth. At the bottom of the screen were the words: _Next Target: Earth_.

"We're next?" Chicken Little sheepishly asked.

Runt just fainted.

**KH-KH-KH**

The two aliens came back to their spaceship after attending to the business they had on this planet. As they pass by one of their containment units they quickly noticed that something was missing. Both mechanical aliens seem to panic, failing their tentacles in the air. In the midst of their mass hysteria, they heard a cough and turned around.

They saw Robin leaning against the wall with his arms folded, grinning like a fox (no pun intended). "I saw who took your precious creature away." The two alien lunged at the fox. They wrapped their tentacles around him and pinned him to the wall. "Settle down mates. I'm not the one who took the creature, but I know who did." The two aliens looked at each questionably and then gently sat Robin, but without letting go their hold on him. "It was a young maiden who has kidnapped this creature. She and her band of friends went in this spaceship to do so. I tried to stop them, but they were too much for me." Robin tired to make himself look like a Good Samaritan and it was working. The two mechanical aliens fumed and cussed in their strange machine-like language. "They are still on the ship," the fox said. "If you hurry you can still catch them. You know the young girl when you see her; she's the one who wields a strange weapon."

**KH-KH-KH**

The keyblader, Chicken Little, and his friends race down the alien hallways looking for an exit. Unbeknownst to them, a small orange alien was following them with great interest.

"We need to get out of here and tell your dad everything," said Abby.

"I know, I know," agreed Chicken Little, "but what are we going to do afterward? How are we going to stop an alien invasion?"

"I don't know," Abby confessed. "Your dad could call the army, navy, the air force, somebody to help us!"

Kairi disagreed, "If the aliens and the Heartless are truly working together then we must find the keyhole to this world first so I can lock it." They found the ship's exit and was about to leave when the two aliens showed up from another corridor. "Quick, run!" Kairi and the group narrowly escape the creatures' tentacles and dove for exit.

Once outside they ran to a nearby cornfield to hide. But it didn't take them long to be discovered by the aliens. The tip of the aliens mechanical tentacles became saw blades and lunged at the group. Kairi jumped in front of the group of children, cast Protect, and the blades bounced off the keyblader's magic barrier. Knowing that the aliens were mechanical in nature, Kairi cast Thundaga in hopes that lightning spells were their weakness. She was right on the money, when the spell hit the aliens were stunned for a moment and had no control over their moments. Figuring that one more spell will end the battle, the keyblader cast another Thundaga. This time the aliens were aware of Kairi's plan. The extraterrestrials raised a metal antenna from their heads which acted like a lightning rod. The lightning was absorbed by the antennae and the aliens seemed to have received a power boost. Thinking quickly, Kairi jumped up and charged one alien hitting it with a keyblade attack that was charged with a Fira spell. While she was still in the air, she then hit the other alien with a three combo strike. Once both aliens were lying on the ground, she plunged her keyblade in the earth and chanted, "**Frozen Land!**" The ground froze over and the aliens were quickly encased in ice.

"We gotta do something!" Runt panicked. "We need to warn people that the invasion is happening now!"

"But we are still quite a ways from Chicken Little's house," Abby said.

"Then ring the school's bell," Robin said stepping out of a patch of corn stalks. "That's the town's warning bell, is it not? It is the only way you can warn the town in time."

"Why do you always show up at the right time to offer us help or advice?" Kairi asked suspiciously.

"It is not wise refuse wisdom or advice from those who are willing to give it for free, my fair maiden. I am truly hurt that you cast the shadow of suspicion on my actions. Why do you doubt my good charity?"

There were a lot of reason Kairi doubted Robin's intentions, but before she could voice them the aliens were beginning to break free from their ice casings. "This is not good," the keyblader said as she raised her keyblade.

"Quick, you five must fly to the school's bell tower," Robin urged. "All of you must warn the denizens of the land. I will delay these monsters as much as I can."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kairi retorted. "We get to run away while you play sacrificial lamb."

"That's what a gentleman does, m' lady," the fox bowed. "Now hurry, off with you all!"

The group felt like they had no choice, they abandon the fox and made a dash toward the school house. Apparently Robin couldn't keep the aliens at bay for long, because when they reached the bell tower, they looked back and saw the aliens closing in.

"The school's doors are locked!" Abby yelled.

"Kairi, can you use your keyblade to launch me to the top of the bell tower?" Chicken Little said.

"I can try. Hop on." Kairi lowered her keyblade so Chicken Little can get on it. Once the tiny rooster was on her weapon, she used all of her strength to launch Chicken Little high in the air.

Chicken Little barely managed to gasp the edge of the top of tower. He pulled himself up, gasped the rope, and started ringing the bell. The moment the bell started the ring, the aliens stopped dead in their tracks and contorted as if they were in great pain. Lights turned on in every house in the neighborhood as the citizens were wondering who was ringing the alarm bell. As the town's citizens made their march to the school house, the aliens stopped flailing and make a run for it; they would have to get their revenge another day.

"Chicken Little, you better have a good explanation for this!" one of the townspeople threatened as the whole town started to gather around the school house.

Chicken Little quickly raced down the stairwell to meet the crowd. "Quick, follow me!" he cried out. "There are aliens here! They are going to invaded us!" Chicken Little led everyone to the baseball field where the spaceship was still there. However, before the Chicken Little could show everyone, the spaceship took off and quickly camouflaged itself.

"It's the acorn thing all over again," one person said when they arrived at an empty baseball park.

"No, I'm telling you it's here," Chicken Little defended himself. "The spaceship was here."

"Why can't you keep your son under control?" one dog citizen yelled Buck Cluck, who was Chicken Little's father.

"Dad, I'm telling the truth," Chicken Little pleaded when he saw that his father was here. "You gotta believe me this time."

Buck however, was too embarrassed and too disappointed that this has happened again for a second time. "No son, I don't." He turned around to apologize to the crowd. "I'm really sorry about this folks. I can't tell you how embarrass I am. It looks like a big crazy misunderstanding."

"But sir," Kairi said sticking up for Chicken Little. "I was with him the whole time. He's telling the truth."

Buck gave a tired, short-lived smile. "It's nice that you are sticking up for my boy, young miss, but I'm afraid that my son is just a little…confused. There is no need for you to cover for him."

"Chicken Little, tell him everything at we went through," but when Kairi turned around Chicken Little was gone and the crowd was heading back to town.

**KH-KH-KH**

The next morning, Kairi was wandering around town looking for Chicken Little. She finally found him sitting on a stump in the front yard of his house. His friends Abby, Runt, and Fish were with him.

"If there was ever a time to talk to your dad," Abby began. "It's now."

"It's too late for that," Chicken Little quietly said.

"It's never too late," Kairi said as she walked in the yard. "I know it's hard now, but it will be better if you reconcile with your father."

"Uh, Kairi…," Runt said, "What's that thing behind you?"

The keyblader turned around and for the first time saw the orange creature that followed her and Chicken Little all last night. The small, furry alien creature was the size of Chicken Little. Its shape was that of a pinecone, had three eyes, and four suction cup legs. At first everyone was screaming, shocked that an alien had followed them, but then Fish stepped in and started talking to it. The alien make sputtering noises and Fish replied back with gurgling sounds.

Finally, Fish told them everything that the alien had related to him. "So the alien's name is Kirby and he was left behind?" Kairi said couldn't believe that she understood Fish's gurgling. "That would mean that the aliens we fought last night was his parents. They were only trying to find their son."

Kirby started to cry and Chicken Little tried to comfort him. "Don't cry. We are going to do whatever it takes to get you back home."

Then lightning flashed overhead. Everyone in the town looked up and saw that the sky was starting to crack and tear open. The town looked up in horror as they realized that Chicken Little's dire prophecy that he made so long ago was coming true. However, as the fissures in the sky was getting bigger the truth was known, the cracks in the sky were camouflaged spaceships and warships. The UFOs made their descent and started attacking the town.

Kirby started jumping up and down excitedly, sputtering in his alien language. Fish told them what the alien child had said.

"Those are your parents?" Chicken Little said as he stared nervous at the sky. "And they brought the galactic armada?" Kirby then ran impatiently in the streets shouting to the sky.

"Wait, come back," Kairi yelled at Kirby just as Buck Cluck came outside.

"Son, there you are," Buck said. "We need to get out of here!"

"Dad, no, you have to listen to me," Chicken Little pleaded.

"Yeah, I know," his father interrupted. "You were right, the alien invasion is real. I can see that now."

"Sir, it's not an invasion, but a rescue mission," Kairi tried to tell Buck.

"A rescue mission? It doesn't look like they are trying to rescue anyone."

"It's their son," Chicken Little said. "He got stuck here and now the aliens are trying to find him." His father just gave him a confused look and Chicken Little sighed. "I knew you wouldn't understand. Come on guys, we have to find Kirby."

"Chicken Little," Abby warned. "It's now time for you two to have closure."

The little rooster sighed. "You were never there for me," he said to his father. "You've been ashamed of me ever since I thought the sky was falling and even now you refused to believe me."

Buck was shocked; he never knew that his son felt this way. "I didn't realize son. I never meant to…You're right. Your mom was always good with stuff like this. Me, well, I'm going to need a lot of work. But you need to know that I love you no matter what and I'm sorry if I made you feel that that was something you had to earn." Father and son gave each other a long hug, glad that they finally understood one another.

Kairi was deeply touched, but very anxious since the UFOs had now deployed ground troops and started using laser beams to disintegrate the townspeople. "It's good that you two have cleared the air," she said to Chicken Little and Buck, "but now we need to find Kirby before it's too late." Then, Kirby came running up to them and excitedly point to the top of city hall. Hovering above city hall was a single UFO silently surveying the carnage. "What, your parents are up there?" the keyblader asked the small alien. Kirby nodded and jumped wildly.

"Okay son, what's the plan?" Buck asked with enthusiasm supporting his son all the way.

"Well, the plan is simple," Chicken Little began. "All we have to do is duck and weave through traffic, dodge the alien death rays, climb up to the top of city hall, and give the aliens their baby back." Nobody (except Kirby) like the sound of that plan, but it was the only plan they had.

So Kairi, the five animals, and Kirby made their way through town. A couple of times the aliens' ground troops tried to grabbed them with their tentacles, but Kairi was there to repel their attack and put them out of commission. When they were almost to their destination a whole horde of Heartless surrounded them.

"I must say," said a familiar voice. "I wasn't expecting all of this to happen. Or at least, not so soon." Robin came out of the shadows and made himself known. "I thought I had a little more time to steal your heart, Chicken Little."

Kairi summoned her keyblade and pointed at the fox. "So all this time you wanted to steal Chicken Little's heart? I knew I couldn't trust you! Who are you really?"

"Allow me to reintroduce myself," Robin pulled out a large piece of blue cloth and covered himself with it. A split second latter he took the cloth off and was wearing a different outfit. He was wearing a green tunic with a greenish-yellow hat with a red feather on it. "My name is Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest," the fox said with a bow, "and I'm the fifth member of the Forsaken." He then took the blue cloth and it transformed into a cloak and put it on.

"So you are part of the Forsaken," Kairi said as she prepared herself for battle. "I knew that you were up to no good."

"But my fair maiden, I am doing something beneficiary. Restoring this world to it true form. Soon, all the lies and falsehoods will be expelled from this world and my world will be brought back to its former glory. The only thing I need is that rooster's heart," Robin Hood pointed to Chicken Little.

"Don't you dare touch my boy," Buck yelled as he put his son behind him. "If you want my son you will have to go through me."

"And me," Abby said stepping in front of Buck.

"And me," Runt added.

Both Fish and Kirby nodded and said the same thing in their unique tongue.

"And me," Kairi added brandishing her keyblade.

The fox sighed, "And here I thought Chicken Little will be alone and isolated once he rang the alarm bell for the second time."

"You set me up?" Chicken Little said angrily. "You wanted me to look like a fool?"

"Why yes," the fox proudly said. "I knew that a year ago you gave a false alarm which caused the whole town to turn its back on you. So, I figured that the only way to isolate you further was for you to make another false alarm. It was when no one was at your side, I planned to steal your heart. However, it seems like I miscalculated. I didn't expect the aliens to invade this town so quickly. It is fortunate that my plan is flexible; I will just steal your heart in the midst of this confusion."

"I hate to break it to you, but you made one more miscalculation," the keyblader taunted.

"Oh? And what is that?"

"Even though the whole world has turned on Chicken Little, he still has friends who are willing to stand by his side."

"How touching," the fox sneered as he pulled out his crossbow. "Normally I prefer a long bow, but this crossbow that Zackary has given has its uses."

Robin Hood fired upon them, but Kairi blocked the arrows using a magical barrier. Kairi then set up another magic barrier to protect Chicken Little and his friends were she fights Robin Hood alone. The keyblader charged the fox and tried to perform a combo but the fox dodged every attack. Knowing his attacks were useless unless he put some distance between him and his enemy, Robin Hood sidestepped out of Kairi's way and jumped back. He took aim at the keyblader and fired.

Kairi expertly dodged the arrows and cast Blink to confuse the fox. Several magic clones of the keyblader appeared and tried their best to distract Robin Hood. The archer didn't flatter however; he picked off one clone at a time. Soon all the clones disappeared and the real Kairi was nowhere to be seen. Robin Hood then felt a sharp pain in his gut and then doubled over. Another blow landed on his head and he was tossed a couple of feet. Before the fox could react, he was hit by a Blizzaga spell freezing his feet to the ground. Kairi magically appeared in front of Robin Hood with her keyblade on her should and a confident smile. You see a little while ago when Robin Hood was picking off Kairi's clones, the real one cast Invis to make herself invisible.

"So, do you surrender?" Kairi said triumphantly.

"Not quite yet," Robin smirked having another trick up his sleeve. His crossbow slowly began to transform into a blade. Once the transformation was complete, Kairi stepped back in shock.

"Is that… a keyblade?" she stammered.

"Not quite, love. I'm afraid it's only a false one." Robin Hood's false keyblade was of simple design: its guard was in the shape of a bow being pulled, the teeth were in the shape of an arrow point, and the stem of the weapon was like a long arrow. "Now let's see how you are at fencing. En garde!"

Both Kairi and Robin Hood went at it, clashing their blades together trying to gain ground. The keyblader wasn't as good or as experienced as Robin Hood, but managed to hold her ground. However, surviving the onslaught of attacks the fox was providing was taxing and Kairi desperately looked for an opening. The princess decided to use a less-than-noble tactic, but she figured that all's fair in love and war. She put her right foot pass Robin's left foot and deliberately tripped the fox. Robin Hood fell on his back and Kairi pressed her keyblade on the fox's neck.

"Do you yield?" she asked panting, but desperately wanted to show the fox that she was up for more. "You have loss Robin Hood."

"Really now," the fox smiled. "Well, I do admit you are a good fencer for a novice. So what will they call you after our epic battle? Kairi the warrior princess? But know this, love; there are many way I can take advantage of this disadvantage." Robin Hood grabbed Kairi's keyblade and yanked it forward. Since Kairi was in a poor fighting stance (it was because she was so tired) she fell directly on top of the fox. The keyblader immediately reached for her keyblade was surprised when she felt Robin's hand was on it as well. "Surprised?" the fox grinned.

Kairi rolled out off the fox with her keyblade in hand, quickly got up, and slowly backed away from the fox. However, she couldn't move away too far since the Heartless got in her way.

Robin Hood slowly got up and grasped his false keyblade. When he did it magically started to transform again. The weapon glowed with a bright light and seemed to grow twice its size. When the light faded, Kairi was shocked yet again. The fake keyblade had transformed into a real one.

"H-h-how…how…?" she stuttered.

"Confused, love?" Robin Hood laughed as he brandished his new keyblade. The keyblade looked like his false blade, but more professional looking. The coloring of it was a deep silver, with the guard of the weapon two angelic wings coming together. The stem of the weapon no longer looked like an arrow, but a mighty spear. The teeth of the blade had transformed from an arrow head to a noble crown. The name of the keyblade was _In the Name of King Richard_. "I learned a lot from my time spent with Zackary Birch; such as how to perform an accidental Passing of the Power. How a keyblader can give someone else the power of the keyblade by mistake. It's simple really; all one has to do is touch the top of the guard of the keyblade when the keyblader is holding his weapon. So Kairi, warrior princess, care to go another round?"

Kairi yelled as she charged the fox. "**Thundaga Wave**" she screamed and produced a ball of electric energy that spun rapidly on the ground as it craved its way to the fox keyblader.

Robin Hood twirled his keyblade and cast "**NulShock.**" A transparent, yellow barrier appeared before him and absorbed the Lightning spell. He then plunged his keyblade in the earth and yelled "**Quake**." A fissure opened up in the earth and threatened to swallow everyone up.

The female keyblader was light on her feet and jumped out of the path of the splitting earth. She then cast Haste and ran toward the fox. She jumped up in the air, cast Saber increasing her attack power, and brought her blade crashing down.

The fox blocked her attack, however, and made a counter-strike knocking her down to the ground. "Why don't you give up, young maiden," Robin Hood taunted. "You are clearly not the warrior you thought you were. You should have left saving the worlds to the professionals. Why do you think both Sora and Riku left you on that island? It was because they knew that you can't handle it, that you will never be a true wielder of the key. You are just not strong enough."

Kairi clenched both her fist as she slowly picked herself up. "You're right," she confessed. "I'm not strong like Sora…and I don't have the battle instincts like Riku. But I like to believe that there is something that I can do, that I can make a difference; even if it's a small one. But there is one thing that I can do that Sora and Riku could never do."

"Oh, and what, pray, is this special ability?"

"My magic abilities are second to none. In a contest of strength, I know that I will almost always lose, but when it comes to magic no keyblader can touch me." Kairi took in a deep breath and cleared her mind. "My mana supply is more expansive than anyone I have ever met; the only one who comes close is Trevor." She gathered all of her mana together to prepare to cast a spell like no other. The redhead didn't know what was going to happen, but somehow in her heart she knew the spell. She closed her eyes and breathed again. "You best prepare yourself, this battle is over." Kairi than began to float in the air, her hair waving about as if she was submerged in water. When she opened her eyes they were glowing with such a brilliant radiance that you can't look at them directly. "_Divine winds, flow from the heavens and fill this world with your radiant light…,_" she chanted.

'_That fool,'_ Robin Hood thought. _'She has left herself open to attack.'_ He then cast a Firaga spell, but the spell dispersed before it could hit Kairi; like she was being protected from all forms of attacks.

The redhead keyblader continued, "_Let the heavens open up so that all can see your wondrous glory…_" Just like Kairi said, the sky above her did opened up and beyond the clean tear in the sky was the most marvelous and beautiful light you ever saw. Heavenly music rain down from the light and was getting louder with each passing moment. A shockwave came out of Kairi and all of the Heartless in the city was destroyed.

Robin Hood couldn't believe his eyes. He tried to summon more Heartless, but couldn't do it. "Impossible!" he said out loud. "It's like there is no more darkness in this darkness. It is as if the whole world has been purified." He looked up at the sky and the more he stared at it and listened to the music, the more he felt like he was going insane…or perhaps becoming more sane; he couldn't tell which. "What sorcery is this?" he yelled. "What kind of spell is this?"

Kairi continued un-phased by the fox's actions. She lifted her keyblade in the air and let it go. The keyblade continued to rise in the air, glowing ever brighter as it did. Eddies and swirls of white magic gathered in the opening of the sky and focused at one point.

"Wait, I know this spell," Robin Hood said as he continued to look up. "Zackary told me about this… This is one of the three legendary spells. This is the most powerful spell associated with the Light Realm. But it can't be… it would mean that Kairi is more that a Princess of Heart and much more than a keyblader… It would mean that she's part of the-"

The fox didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Kairi chanted the last part of the spell, "_Let the wisdom of the Trinity be known:_ **HOLY!**" A giant pillar of light came crashing down the opening of the sky with the roar of a lion.

Robin Hood couldn't help, but weep with joy; he doesn't why he is, but he couldn't help it. "So beautiful," he said as the pillar of light hit him.

The spell was over, the sky closed back up, the music faded away, and Kairi gentle floated down to earth. Robin Hood's body was nowhere to be found and she breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered where she learned that powerful spell. The keyblader couldn't help, but smile when she reached a plausible conclusion. "I wonder if my grandmother taught me that spell long ago," she said to herself. "The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Is it possible that grandma at one time was a-"

"Kairi!" Chicken Little interrupted her thoughts and hugged her. "That was amazing! I knew that you would win!" Kirby also hopped up and hugged the keyblader.

"Thanks guys," Kairi giggled. "But we don't have time for this hug-fest now. We still have a planet to save." The aliens were still attacking the town, although they seem to be avoiding the area Kairi was in. After seeing the Holy spell they didn't want a piece of her. "So are all you guys still in?" she asked.

"Of course," Chicken Little said with determination and Kirby sputtered something in agreement.

"You know me, always supporting his son," Buck said giving a thumbs up.

"You can count on the three of us too," Abby said speaking for herself, Runt, and Fish.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Kairi said. "Let's go to city hall and end this."

The entire group made a dash for city hall dodging the aliens and their laser beams. Kairi and Buck knocked down any alien dumb enough to get in their way. They finally made it inside the building, and Chicken Little ordered Abby, Runt, and Fish to stay behind in the lobby for their safety. Unfortunately for them, the elevator was out of order and Kairi, Chicken Little, Kirby, and Buck had to climb ten flights of stairs. When they reached the top of the building the alien ground forces were upon them, with many more climbing the building. Chicken Little held up Kirby on top of city hall's dome in hopes at the UFO above them will see that the young alien is unharmed.

"We have your son!" the tiny rooster pleaded. "Call off the invasion!"

Kairi and Buck were protecting Chicken Little from any alien ground troops that got too close. Finally, the spaceship above them opened up and a supernatural light fell upon them. The UFO took aim and fired a laser on the four of them.

Kairi awoke floating in an endless black void. She looked to her right and saw Chicken Little and his father floating besides her. To her left were a number of townspeople and objects that she thought that the aliens had disintegrated. "Does anyone know where we are exactly?" she questioned.

Before she could get an answer, three giant eyes appeared before them and with great fury said, "WHY DID YOU TAKE OUR CHILD?"

"Wait a minute buddy," Buck complained. "My son didn't take your child, you left him behind. That's bad parenting, and I should know!"

"SILENCE!" the mysterious being screamed.

"We returned your child back to you," Kairi yelled back. "Do know what we had to go through to do that?"

The voice and the three eyes refused to listen. "YOU HAVE VIOLATED INTERGALACTIC LAW 90210! A CHARGE PUNISHABLE BY IMMEDIATE PARTICLE DISINTEGRATION!" Then a smaller set of three eyes appeared and the trio heard Kirby's voice. It sounded like Kirby was trying to tell the voice something important in his own unique gibberish. "Hmm? What's that? I don't quite, uh…"

Then another trio of eyes appeared and with a feminine voice said, "Marvin, honey? He's saying they're telling the truth. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Oh…," the booming voice said in embarrassment. "Well, then. This is awkward. I suppose I should put them down now."

The zero gravity in the room turned off and everyone in the room dropped to the floor. The three sets of giant eyes disappeared and a nearby door opened. The two mechanical aliens they saw at the baseball field last night walked in the room and then their heads cracked open. Two aliens, one red the other yellow, who looked like Kirby popped out of the metallic exoskeletons.

**KH-KH-KH**

Hours later, anyone was transported back to Oakey Oaks with the aliens helping them rebuild the town.

"Again, I cannot tell you how sorry we are for this whole misunderstanding," Kirby's father, Marvin, apologized to Buck, Kairi, and Chicken Little. "And if it hadn't been for your son there, well, we might have vaporized the whole planet."

"Oh goodness, what a shame that would have been," Kirby's mother, Tina said. "Where else will we pick our acorns?"

"You see, every year we on our way to see the in-laws we stopped on your planets to gather acorns," Marvin explained.

"So that's what you were doing last night," Kairi said coming to a realization. "But what about the map on your computer screen with all those planets crossed off?"

"We tried to find acorns on other planets, but we could only find them here. Just like your town sign says: 'Best Acorns in the Universe.'" Marvin's watch started to vibrate and the alien looked at it to see what time it was. "Darling, look at the time. We better get a move on," he said to his wife. "Alright, it was a pleasure meeting all of you," Marvin shook everyone's hand. "Sorry for the whole full-scale invasion thing. But, hey, I'm a dad. You know how it is with your kids. When they need ya, you do whatever it takes."

As Kirby and his parents were about to enter their spaceship, one of the hexagon panels fell off. "There goes that panel again," Tina sighed. "Every year we come, this thing falls off." She pressed a button on the panel and it reattached itself to the spaceship. "Seriously, honey, someday it's going to hit somebody on the head."

Her husband waved off her concern. "Nonsense," he said. And with that all the aliens got on their ships and left the planet.

"I have to get going too," Kairi said as the aliens left. "There are still a lot more worlds for me to see."

"Aw, but you just got here," Chicken Little pleaded. "Can't you stay a little while longer?"

Kairi smiled. "I wish I could, but the worlds need saving. I can't let Sora and Riku do it this alone." Her keyblade appeared in her hand and tried to move her in the direction of the town's sign. She raised her weapon and the keyhole to the world appeared on the sign. With a beam of light from her keyblade, she locked the world. "Well, that's it," she said. "There's nothing else for me to do here." The keyblader turned around and smiled at her new friends. "See you guys later." She held out her keyblade and made a corridor of light. Kairi waved everyone goodbye before leaving the world for good.

**Next Chapter: Hands On Me**

**Kairi's Diary Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Jing: Jing: King of Bandits(manga 1995)

Kir: Jing: King of Bandits(manga 1995)

Chicken Little: Chicken Little(2005)

Abby Mallard: Chicken Little(2005)

Runt of the Litter: Chicken Little(2005)

Fish of the Water: Chicken Little(2005)

Buck Cluck: Chicken Little(2005)

Kirby: Chicken Little(2005)

Kirby's parents(Marvin and Tina): Chicken Little(2005)

Robin Hood: Robin Hood(1973)


	24. Hands On Me

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 23: Hands On Me**

"The Mark of Mastery?" Miranda echoed Trevor. "So it's an exam for keybladers?"

"In a sense, yes," Trevor explained as with his hands clasped together. "The exam is to test if a keyblader is worthy to have the title of master." Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda were all sitting down on a couch in the back of the Heart of Gold's bridge. The keyblader was busy relaying the dream that he had only a few moments ago. However, Trevor knew that it was more than a dream or a vision, that Yuko wanted him to take the Mark of Mastery. "For some reason, Yuko wants me to become a keyblade master. She says that someone worse than Naraku has returned and the only way to prepare for the upcoming fight is to make me a master."

"But who is this guy that has returned?" Bonkers inquired. "And why is he worse than Naraku?"

"I don't know, Yuko never told me," the keyblader confessed. "But whoever it is, he can't be good. For what I can remember, the exams were originally given every few years. To have a Mark of Mastery now, in a time when the universe is in crisis, is unheard of."

"If it isn't one thing, it's another," Miranda sighed heavily. "It's bad enough that we have to deal with the Forsaken and Naraku, but now we have an unknown adversary? It's almost too much to handle."

"But there is one other thing," Trevor said with a smile. "You know the visions that I kept having of a blonde woman around my age? Well, it turns out that she is my lost girlfriend Hailey!"

"You mean you have an imaginary girlfriend that was created by your fragile psyche?" Bonkers wondered aloud.

"NO!" Trevor yelled. "Hailey's real, she's just…trapped…inside my heart…" The keyblader knew he sounded crazy (and sometimes he wondered if he was), however he continued to explain to the best of his knowledge. "Look, for some weird reason Hailey's heart and my heart were fused together. I don't know how that happened, but it happened. The point is that I know that…uh…well, it's….UGH!" Trevor dropped his head in his hands. "I just don't know anymore. I will be so _damn_ happy when all of my memories return to me!"

Miranda rubbed her temples; she was having a hard time understanding everything as well. "So…your girlfriend's heart is trapped within your own heart, which you are forced to share with some guy name Kyle?"

"On top of that, he wants to kill me so his existence can be justified, my soul is evil and wants to take over my body, my brother and my best friend are trying to destroy certain worlds, and just because I'm not miserable enough, I'm also an amnesiac." The keyblader sighed deeply and stared into space for a moment. "I have issues…," he said sadly, and it is the most understated line any reader will ever read in a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED!" Eddie squealed with electronic glee, shocking everyone out of their somber mood. The computer displayed a world covered with a bustling metropolis. Skyscrapers pierced the sky in a vain attempt to reach the heavens. It was night on that world, but the lights the city produced make it seem like it was still daytime. "Welcome to _The Big Apple_!" the computer rejoiced. "Also know as the NYC. Famous for their hot dogs and theater productions."

"We are not here to sightsee," Trevor said, but was amazed how much the world looked like _The City of Lost Angels_. "We are here to find information about Naraku and the Forsaken."

"That may be true," began Miranda, "but on this journey it seems that every time we get close to something the farther away it is. Are we really going to find the answers that we seek?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Trevor said with a tired smile.

**KH-KH-KH**

"I want a hot dog!" Bonkers complained as he, Miranda, and Trevor wandered the now-empty Central Park Zoo.

"No!" Trevor said exhausted. "We are here on an important mission. Besides, there isn't a hot dog stand around."

They past all of the animal habitats, ignoring all the smells that the animals produced. Bonkers got a kick out of being in the zoo. Like a child, the cartoon bobcat wandered from habitat to habitat looking at all the animals.

"Bonkers, we're not here to play tourists!" Miranda reminded her partner, but Bonkers wasn't paying her any attention. "BONKERS, get away from the penguin habitat and help us look for clues!"

The bobcat whimpered like a hurt dog. "But I like these four penguins; from the way they are acting it's like they are commandos or something." Then something else caught the bobcat's attention causing his ears to spring back up with excitement. "Look, an Aztec exhibit!" he said eagerly as he raced toward it.

"Bonkers, come back!" Trevor and Miranda yelled in unison as they chased the bobcat.

The three ran into the exhibit totally unaware what was going on. The group stumbled among a large group of men wearing purple uniforms tearing the place apart. The men stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the keyblader. Trevor summoned his keyblader, ready for battle, but out of the shadows came forth a large, burly man in a purple uniform wearing a dragon's skull on his head like a mask.

"What do we have here?" the man asked. "Well, isn't it the keyblader known as Trevor. I was wondering when you keybladers are going to stick your noses in my business."

"You must be the Huntsmaster," Trevor deduced. "Tell us everything you know about Naraku."

"Yeah, don't make us beat it out of you," Miranda added.

The Huntsmaster only laughed at their demands. "Look around you. You are vastly outnumbered by my fellow warriors. Besides, I'm no longer aligned with that demon or anyone who uses magical creatures, such as the Heartless, to do their dirty work. But soon it won't matter; for every magical being such as Naraku will be wiped out from existence!"

"Huntsmaster!" A young teenager girl wearing a mask and the same purple uniform as the Huntsmaster stepped forth holding a crystal object. "I have found the last crystal skull, my master." She presents the crystal skull to the Huntsmaster.

"Thank you Huntsgirl," the Huntsmaster began. "Once all thirteen skulls are united, my plans will be complete and magical creatures will be no more!"

"Not if I can help it!" the voice from above. A red dragon crashed through the ceiling and wiped the crystal skull out of the Huntsmaster's hands. The dragon had a slender, long body like an eastern dragon, but had bat wings like a western dragon. "It's over Huntsmaster," the dragon said with a cocky attitude. "Just admit it; you lost to the American Dragon…Again!"

"I will take care of the dragon and the intruders, my master," Huntsgirl said as she leapt into action. She first knocked Trevor down with a flying kick. The keyblader was surprised that such a small girl has a powerful kick. The Huntsgirl then somersaulted past Miranda and dodged Bonkers' spells to get to the dragon. Using her staff, she was locked in a fierce combat with the dragon.

When Trevor got back up and observed the battle, he found something odd. From his point of view, it looked like Huntsgirl was deliberately missing her attacks; the dragon too. It was as if the both of them were in a fake, choreographed fight. However, he didn't have time to worry about that; the Huntsmaster's troops were closing around him.

Before Trevor could defend himself, the ground started to shake. Only twenty feet away from him, Trevor saw a giant drill coming out of the ground. The drill was attached to a small pod with tractor tires. Everyone in the exhibit stopped what they were doing and stared at the strange contraption as it slowly opened its glass casing. A green dragon wearing armor and a blue cloak popped out the subterranean vehicle with a victorious look spread across his face.

"Huzzah!" the green dragon exclaimed. "My latest invention is a success!"

When Trevor saw the blue cloak, he knew where the green dragon's alliances lie. "You are part of the Forsaken!" the keyblader shouted at the dragon. "Tell me where my brother is!"

For the first time, the green dragon noticed everyone around him. "Oh….bugger," he cursed. "I did not expect all of you to be here. Oh well. On the bright side, I will get to kill two birds with one stone." He pressed a button in his vehicle's control panel and the tractor tires folded up and four robotic spider legs came out of the sides. The vehicle's drill was extended before it split into two to create a makeshift clamp. Once the transformation was complete, the vehicle looked like a crudely made, one claw robotic crab.

Many of the Huntsclan soldiers started to back away, but Trevor was not deterred. "I know who you are Flicker, so stop fooling around and tell where Zackary is!"

"And I know who you are Bearer of the Key," Flicker responded. "You are lucky that Zackary wants you alive. So do us a favour and surrender, and then I will take you to your brother. See, everybody wins."

"Stop cowering, you fools!" the Huntsmaster chastised his fellow Huntsclan. "It's just a dragon. And what do we specialize in?"

"Killing dragons!" the Huntsclan yelled with renew vigor. They charged Flicker's contraption in a desperate attempt to destroy it and its creator.

Flicker had no trouble with the dragon killers. He just swatted most of them away with the giant clamp and mowed the rest of them down.

One of the Huntsclan managed to sneak up on Flicker and tried to attack him from behind. Before Flicker could react, the American Dragon swooped in and smacked the soldier away with his tail. "Are you okay, G?" the American Dragon asked. "We dragons gotta stick together."

Flicker grabbed the American Dragon with his machine's metal clamp, squeezing the life out of the red dragon. "You may be one of my dragon brethren, but I am no ally of yours American Dragon. Before this night is over, your heart will be mine."

Before the American Dragon was crushed to death, Miranda and Trevor jumped and sliced the metal clamp off the machine releasing the American Dragon.

"Thanks," the American Dragon gasped, then made sure he still had the crystal skull. "We need to get out of here and fast."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Trevor responded.

Flicker gritted his teeth; he knew that he should have installed that second clamp. But the green dragon had no time for regrets.

"The dragon's machine has been disable!" all of the Huntsclan yelled. "Get him!"

"NO, YOU FOOLS!" the Huntsmaster yelled at his minions. "Go after the American Dragon and the crystal skull!" When the Huntsmaster turned around the American Dragon, Trevor, and his friends were gone.

"I will find them Huntsmaster," Huntsgirl bowed and ran out of the exhibit.

**KH-KH-KH**

"We sure showed those Huntsclan goons!" the American Dragon rejoiced once they were safely out of the exhibit and deep within Central Park. It was only after celebrating that the red dragon realized that he didn't know the three strangers. "Say, who are you guys anyway?"

"My name is Trevor," the keyblader introduced himself. "And this is Miranda and Bonkers."

"We're here to find out what the Huntsmaster is up to," Bonkers added.

"Then we have a common enemy," the American Dragon nodded his head. "We should team up and-"

"Jake!" a new voice called out. A chubby grey shar-pei appeared; out of breath and panting like there was no tomorrow. "Jake," the shar-pei repeated, "Do you have the crystal skull?"

"I got it Fu," the dragon held up the artifact. "With the help of these guys."

Fu finally notice the three strangers and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Jake! What are you thinking?" Fu scolded at the dragon. "It's bad enough that Trixie and Spud know about your secret, now these two humans know about it? Your grandfather is going to throw a fit and I don't want to think about what the Dragon Council is going to do. Furthermore-…wait, … What's that?" Fu pointed to Trevor's weapon.

"This? It's my keyblade," the keyblader responded.

"A k-k-k-keyblade?" Fu stuttered. "You're a keyblader? Well, that's a horse of a different color…, kind of. A keyblader hasn't showed up in this side of the universe for, let me see, about three-thousand years! What are you guys doing here anyway?"

Before Trevor could answer, Huntsgirl appeared. Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers prepared for a fight, but Huntsgirl removed her mask revealing herself to be a young blonde teenager, and walked straight to Jake.

"Is the crystal skull safe?" she asked the American Dragon.

"Of course it is!" Jake answered. "You know me Rose, always taking care of business." Fu shot Jake a look as if to say 'Yeah right.'

"Wait a minute!" Trevor said deeply confused and pointed to Rose. "I thought you were working for the Huntsmaster?"

"I was…," Rose admitted. "But now I'm on Jake's side; I'm their man on the inside."

"Like a double agent or an undercover cop," Miranda deduced.

"Something like that," Rose shrugged. "Anyway, Jake, I came to tell you that the Huntsmaster has much bigger plans for the Aztec crystal skulls. Not only he wants to wipe out the magical creatures of this world, but in all worlds."

"What?" everybody yelled.

"I will explain later," Rose said as she put her mask back on. "The Huntsmaster is getting suspicious about me. I have to go back."

"Rose, wait!" Jake called out. "I know you said that we can't go together for Homecoming, but please reconsider. After all, we have been nominated for Homecoming king and queen."

Rose gave out a long sigh. "I will think about it Jake," and with that she disappeared into the night.

Trevor sighed and folded up his arms. "You two; dog and dragon. Start talking; I absolutely hate being left out in the dark."

**KH-KH-KH**

The sun slowly rose over the world, causing night to make way for the daylight. Jake and Fu took Trevor and his friends to Jake's grandfather's Electronics Shop on Canal Street. Jake had reverted back to his normal human form, which is a fourteen-year-old boy with a green tint in his hair. The American Dragon's grandfather, Luong Lao Shi, was also there staring daggers at the three strangers; clearly, he did not like them.

"So, there are thirteen of these Aztec crystal skulls," Trevor said out loud once Jake and Fu finished explaining. "…and if the Huntsmaster gathers them all together then he will get his wish? It sounds like a plot out of a bad Indiana Jones movie."

"Yes, once the skulls are all together, they will grant anyone an irreversible wish," Fu explained further. "Once the wish is made not even your keyblade could undo the wish."

"An irreversible wish…," the keyblader pondered. Trevor quickly thought of all the things he could for wish. After a second of thought, he felt guilty and tried to shut the thought from his mind. However, the idea kept nagging him; tempting him into thinking about making a wish. _'What if it is not a bad wish?'_ he thought. _'What if it's a wish that can make the universe a better place? What if I wish for the shadow worlds and the original worlds to coexist in harmony? That way the Forsaken can stop what they are doing, my brother and Vincent can come home, and there will be no reason for Kyle to try to kill me. Everything can go back to normal…for the most part anyway.'_ The idea was very tempting and he rolled it around in his head a few times. _'But if I do this, wouldn't that be interfering with the world order? And is there any unforeseeable consequences, just like making a deal with Yuko; after all, nothing is free.'_ Even though he knew the risk was great, Trevor was dead set on making the wish. _'It's for the good of the universe,'_ he kept telling himself.

"And the Huntsmaster wants to wish for the destruction of all magical creatures?" Miranda spoke interrupting Trevor's thoughts. "But why would he want to do that?"

"That's the Huntsclan for ya's," Fu shook his head. "Since ancient times, the Huntsclan had only one goal; the annihilation of all magical creatures from this world. But now that the Huntsmaster has found out about the existence of other worlds, I guess he decided to go for broke and annihilate magical creatures across the multi-verse."

"That's terrible," Bonkers said.

"It is," Lao Shi spoke for the first time. "And now the situation is worse now you three are here!" He jabbed Trevor in the chest with his finger and every jab cause the keyblader to take a step back. "As a Wielder of the Key, you should already know that you shouldn't meddle in the affairs of other worlds! Leave now before you harm this world any further!"

"Grandpa!" Jake said stunned. "These guys helped me and Rose last night. Thanks to them we now have three of skulls; doesn't that count for something?"

"Jake, I'm afraid you know very little about the nature of the universe," Lao Shi scolded. "Everything must be in balance, in perfect order. If not then chaos will run rampant. These three out-worlders are disturbing the balance of this world. Their very presence could disrupt the world in ways we cannot imagine."

"You have no idea…," said a very somber and melancholy voice. Everyone turned around and saw two teenager girls in the doorway. The two girls looked like polar opposites. The first girl had jet-black hair, wore dark goth clothes, and had a permanent frown on her face. The second girl look upbeat and preppy, wearing colorful cloths and a never-ending (yet somehow annoying) smile.

"Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, meet the Oracle twins," Fu introduced them. "They are descendents of the famous Oracle of Delphi. The gloomy one is Kara who can only see good things in people's futures and the upbeat one is Sara who can only see the horrible things. Go figure."

"Please to meet you all!" Sara said her peppy voice and gave each one of them a hug. "We never knew that the out-worlders will be here."

"I thought you were oracles," Trevor questioned with his arms folded. "Shouldn't you two know the future?"

"Usually yes, but the thing is, we can only see the future of people that live in this world," Kara sighed. "Because you three are not part of this world, we can't see your futures."

"That's right!" Sara agreed. "If we were able to see the futures of the entire universe, well, our heads might explode."

"But now that you three are here, we are having trouble to see the future of this world at all," Kara continued.

"But why?" Jake questioned.

"Like we said, we can't see the out-worlders' futures. Unfortunately, that also means we can't see the futures of the people they come in contact on this world. They are an unnecessary variable. Every time we tried to get a vision now, we usually turn up empty," Kara complained. "Because of the out-worlders, the future keeps changing too much."

"See, SEE?" Lao Shi yelled and jabbed Trevor in the chest one last time. "I've told you your presence here will upset the balance of this world!"

"I still don't understand," Trevor said defending himself. "Could you explain further why me being here could disrupt the future?"

"Think of the future being like an equation," Sara beamed. "Something simple like 2 + 2 = 4. Normally, the equation will always equals 4, but you guys are the variable 'x'. Now the equation is 2x + 2 = ? Because we can't see your futures, 'x' could be anything: 3, 7, 100, 12, or even 42. Thus, the answer could be anything."

"I'm sorry that you two can't use your powers," Jake said. He didn't know why he said it, but he felt it was the right thing to do.

"Aw, that's okay," Sara smiled. "On the bright side, not knowing what's going to happen has made our lives a little more interesting."

"Still, I wanted to ask you two about the green dragon I saw night," Jake scratched his head. "He kept saying that I was his enemy and I wanted to know if he worked for the Dark Dragon."

"You mean Flicker," Trevor interrupted. "I don't know anything about a Dark Dragon, but I know he works for the Forsaken."

"Humph, another out-worlder," Lao Shi scolded.

"Well…yes and no," the keyblader pondered out loud. "Let me explain the whole thing."

Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda began explaining to them about the Forsaken, their motives, and their goals. When the keyblader finished, everybody in the room was silent; it wasn't every day that you hear that your world shouldn't exist.

"This…is troubling news," was all that Lao Shi said.

"And Flicker won't stop until he has your heart Jake," Miranda added. "He needs it to transform this world."

"And that's why we are here," the keyblader finished. "To stop him."

"Then we must prepare for the upcoming battle," Lao Shi decided. "What are his strength and weaknesses?"

The truth of the matter is that Trevor didn't know much about the green dragon. "Well, we know the leader of the Forsaken is my brother, who happens to be a keyblader like-"

"Say no more," Lao Shi interrupted. "This world may not have existed for long, but we still have legends about the order of keybladers and what they are capable of doing. For the time being you three can in this world, but only if you look after my grandson."

"I don't need any bodyguards," Jake protested. "I'm the American Dragon, yo. I can handle anything."

"Jake, you have no idea what kind of enemy you are facing," his grandfather chastised. "I have trained you well, but I haven't trained you to deal with the enemy you will eventually have to face." Lao Shi then turned to the three out-worlders, "And for you three; keep my grandson safe and try not to meddle in the world's affairs."

**KH-KH-KH**

On the top of the building opposite of the Canal Street Electronic Shop, a huge contraption was pointed at the store. The main body of the device looked like a giant, makeshift cornucopia made of scrap wood. Connect to the wooden horn was several old used wires attached to a small counsel made up of scrap metal. Flicker sat at this makeshift counsel wearing a crude earphone made up of discarded plastic cups with wires and strings connecting it to the counsel. The dragon twisted the knobs on the counsel (which were soda bottle caps) as he tried to adjust the volume.

Flicker had quickly and hastily built the device in the early hours of the morning so he can listen in on the conversion in Lao Shi's store. Because he wasted most of last night fighting and trying to get away from the Huntsclan, he didn't have time to build a more professional looking device. Despite all odds, the machine worked; he was able to eavesdrop on Trevor and Jake's conversion with perfect clarity. The green dragon heard it all: the Huntsmaster's plan, the power of the Aztec crystal skulls, and Trevor being Jake's bodyguard. He knew that he couldn't win against the keyblader in weapon combat. The code that Flicker lived by was the Code of Chivalry and Chivalry Code No. 273 states that a squire (like him) cannot wield or use any weapon that is, resemble, or has the attributes of a sword. It was because of this code that Flicker refused Zackary's offer to give him a faux keyblade.

Still, the abilities of the Aztec skulls peeked Flicker's interest. _'I can have any wish that my heart desires,'_ the green dragon thought, _'and it's irreversible; not even a Bearer of the Key can undo it.'_ He knew exactly what he what to wish for; for this world to disappear and for his world to return to its original state. The dragon rubbed his hands together, excited that he can bring back his world without spilling any blood. All he has to do is wait for all thirteen skulls to be gathered. Only then, will he come out of the shadows and make his move.

**KH-KH-KH**

And so, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda accompanied Jake to school. Both Miranda and Trevor felt awkward since they had to hang around a middle school. Lucky for them Jake introduced them to a teacher named Sun Park, who turned out to be the Korean Dragon. Ms. Park had the two out-worlders pose as her temporary teaching assistants while she hid Bonkers in a broom closet so no one could question why there was an anthropomorphic bobcat running around school.

At the end of the school day, most of the students went home, but some stayed around to help with the preparation for the upcoming Homecoming dance. Because there were only a few students left, Miranda and Trevor decided it was okay to let Bonkers out of the broom closet.

"FINALLY!" the cartoon gasped for air. "Do you know how hot it can get in there?"

"Quiet Bonkers," the cop placed her index finger to her lips. "The school is only somewhat deserted. Someone can still see you."

"Hurry," Trevor said in a whisper. "Jake is about to reveal his surprise for Rose." Along the way to the school's gym Trevor explained what's going on to the bobcat. "You see, Jake and Rose apparently dated each other a while back. However, a while ago, they mutually ended their relationship so they can both work together to defeat the Huntsclan. The only problem is that Jake still has feelings for Rose."

"So?" the bobcat asked not getting it.

"So, Jake wants to take Rose to Homecoming, but she wants to distance herself from Jake since the Huntsmaster is getting suspicious of her. So we thought that we could set up a mini-homecoming dance just for them."

The three arrived at the empty gym with sappy love music playing in the background and disco lights illuminating every corner of the empty space.

"Our finest work yet, if I do say so myself." The trio turned around and saw two middle-schoolers coming toward them.

Bonkers hid behind Miranda, but the cop told the bobcat not to worry. "Bonkers this is just Spud and Trixie; they're Jake's friends. They already know what's going on, including the reason why we are here."

"Oh my god, a real live cartoon!" Spud exclaimed as he picked up Bonkers. "And from another dimension to boot! For the first time in my life I'm truly geeking out!"

"The _first_ time?" Trixie questioned as she put her hands on her hips. "Try twice everyday."

Before the conversion could continue any further, Jake and Rose entered the gym from the opposite doorway.

"Jake, what is this?" Rose questioned.

"Since Homecoming doesn't seem to be in the cards for us, I thought we have a ball of our own," Jake said. "Of course I had a little help putting this all together," he nodded toward his friends.

"Jake, it's not as if I don't want to go with you, it's just-"

"Too dangerous, I know," Jake sighed.

"It's more than that; I just want a normal life where I don't have to worry about giant snakes or magical beetles."

"Listen Rose, after the skull business is over, I think it's time for you to leave the Huntsclan; for good."

"But how? Where would I go? It's not like the streets are lined with homes for wayward dragon slayers."

"Remember your dream?" Jake urged. "The Huntsclan stole you from your parents when you were a baby. I want to help you find your real family."

Rose looked like she was about to cry. "Jake, thank you," she quietly said. "Let's go to the Homecoming ball tonight. We both deserve one night where we can act like normal teenagers."

"Awesome!" Jake exclaimed. "Now, do you care to dance?" Rose took Jake's hand and together they started slow dancing.

"Isn't that sweet?" Miranda sighed. Trevor just nodded.

"_This kind of reminds me of our Homecoming dance."_ The keyblader turned to his right and saw the spirit of his girlfriend Hailey. Hailey turned to him and smiled. _"Do you remember that day?"_

"Of course, how could I forget?" Trevor smiled as he started to reminisce.

_**(Flashback)**_

Two and a half years earlier, some time before the Heartless destroyed the world _The Land of Still Meadows_, Trevor was a senior in high school enjoying the Homecoming dance. He looked sharp wearing a rented black tuxedo that, surprising, actually fitted him. The teenager came to the dance alone, but didn't really mind seeing there was free food.

His friends, however, thought it was a sad state of affairs. "You should have asked somebody to the dance," said one of Trevor's friends, Locke. Locke was wearing a deep navy blue tux with a bandana on his head. His date, Celes, thought wearing a bandana to a formal event was tacky, but Locke didn't care. "Just because you ask someone to a dance, doesn't mean she has to be your girlfriend."

"So you don't want me to be your girlfriend, is that it?" Celes yelled at Locke with her hands in akimbo, but was careful not to mess up her white dress. "This dance means nothing to you?"

"Uh… That's not what I meant," Locke protested. "I mean I like you and if everything works out in the end then maybe I will date you."

Celes rolled her eyes. She took the white rose that Locke had given her out of her blonde hair and threw it on the ground. "I'm so out of here!" she said as she stormed out.

"Celes come back!" Locke pleaded. "I didn't mean it like that! I'm sorry!" Locke left the buffet table to chase after his date.

Trevor and his remaining friend, Cyan, stood there and shook their heads. Cyan had long ebony hair tied to a ponytail and was wearing a black tuxedo with a red bowtie. "Flawed as his logic is, Locke speaks the truth. 'Tis better to enjoy the company of a young lady when one is attending a social event." Cyan always spoke with a formal tone in his voice; a habit he picked up from one of the noble families that he and his family served under.

"Speaking of which, where is _your_ date?" Trevor retorted.

"The lady is over there, talking to her many friends," Cyan pointed out. "And one of her friends is the lady that you have been pining on for quite some time," he elbowed Trevor.

The teenager blushed and just continued eating. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said at last.

Cyan rolled his eyes in frustration. "The young maiden known as Hailey. The one who you write secret love letters to."

"How did you found out about those? It was Locke, wasn't it? That no good pickpocket and thief!"

"How I came to acquire such knowledge is not for you to know. However, I will tell you this; my date for this evening told me that Hailey _does_ fancy you just as you do her."

Trevor blushed harder; he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "A-a-are you sure? Maybe you heard wrong."

"I assure you that every word I said was accurate and to the letter. Now I implore you to go yonder and talk with the fair maiden, before I drag you there myself," Cyan threaten.

"Fine," Trevor sighed. "I'll go, but I when I get back I'm going to have to lecture you and Locke about privacy."

Trevor took a deep breath and slowly walked over to where Hailey was standing. He had never been so nervous in his life and had butterflies the size of airplanes in his stomach. As he made his seemly long walk, the band prepared to play a new song. The bandleader, a woman with dark hair, went over to the piano on stage and started singing:

"_I first saw you at the video exchange,_

_I know my heart and it will never change,"_

Trevor finally reached his goal, and coughed to get Hailey's attention. Hailey turned around and greeted Trevor with a warm smile. She was wearing a sky blue formal dress that matched her eyes. "Hey," he shyly said to her.

"Hey," she said back to him. Her friends behind her quietly giggled in the way teenager girls do when they are in a group.

"So, do you want to dance?" Trevor extended his hand and sent up a quick prayer to God that she will say yes.

"I would love to." Trevor's prayers have been answered and he led her to the dance floor.

"_This temp work will be alright if you'd call me,_

_You'd call me,_

_I lay awake at night for you,_

_and I pray,"_

The two dancers wouldn't take their eyes off one another. They both couldn't believe that this was finally happening. At first, they slow dance trying to figure out the other person's rhythm. With each step, they both became more confident and picked up the pace of their dance moves.

"_We'd cross the deepest oceans,_

_Cargo across the sea,_

_And if you don't believe me,_

_Just put your Hands On Me,_

_And all the constellations,_

_Shine down for us to see,_

_And if you don't believe me,_

_Just put your Hands On Me,"_

Trevor and Hailey were having the time of their lives. At that moment, the only thing that mattered was the person in front of them. The rest of the world seemed to have faded away; Trevor couldn't hear Locke or Cyan cheering him on and Hailey didn't hear the "You-go-girl"s from her circle of friends. As their dance moves became more elaborate, the smile on their faces grew wider. Before they knew it, they were falling in love.

"_Someday when our stories are told,_

_They'll tell of a love like this,_

_When our descendents are all growing old,_

_1,000 years they'll be singing,_

_Nah-nah, nah-nah, nah-nah, nah, nah, nah,"_

Trevor stole a quick kiss, but Hailey didn't mind. The next time she was welcomed to a deeper, longer kiss. Everything was perfect and all seem right with the world.

"_We'll climb Tibetan mountains,_

_Where we can barely breathe,_

_I'll see the Dali Lama,_

_I'll feel him blessing me,_

_And all the constellations,_

_Shine down for us to see,_

_And if you don't believe me,_

_Just put your Hands On Me,_

_Your Hands On Me…"_

Their passionate kiss broke and they floated gently back on earth. In their hearts, they plead to never leave the other's side.

"_I first saw you at the video exchange."_

_**(End Flashback)**_

"We had some wonderful times…," the keyblader reminisced.

"Excuse me?" Miranda questioned with one eyebrow raised.

Trevor regained his composure; he had forgotten that he was the only one who can see Hailey's spirit. "Oh, it's nothing," he coughed. "I was just thinking out loud."

"Let's go you guys," Spud said after a few moments. "I think Jake and Rose will appreciate some alone kissy-kissy time." Everyone nodded and left the gym to wander down the empty hallways.

As the group waited outside for Jake and Rose to finish dancing, two figures approached them from behind. "I saw you work over the Huntsclan last night. You can wield a pretty mean keyblade kid." Trevor and the others prepared for battle, but lowered their weapons in shock at the sight their saw. "Whoa, whoa, time out," said the first figure who was a mouse like Mickey. He wore white gloves like the king, but was far taller and had a longer snout. The mouse also wore a beige leisure suit with a bright red, polka dotted bow tie. "I'm on your side, kid. The name's Mortimer Mouse," the mouse introduced himself. "And over here is my associate Zeke Wolf."

Zeke was a tall wolf wearing a slightly ripped up red hoodie and a bent up black top hat. He wore old red pants with several patches on them. The pants were held up by green suspenders, which were worn over the hoodie. "'Sup," the wolf said in a deep, gravelly voice that sounded more like growl than anything.

"Me and Zeke were wonderin'," Mortimer continued, "if you can help us with a little problem, keyblader."

"Why should I trust you?" Trevor questioned with his arms folded. "Two anthro-animals appearing out of nowhere, for no good reason. Plus you admitted to you were spying on us last night."

"But me and Zeke came from Disney Castle just like King Mickey, Goofy, and the rest of those chumps- er…I mean upstanding citizens of the universe."

Miranda and Trevor looked at each other not buying the mouse's story. "Prove it," the cop said defiantly.

"Prove it? What more proof do you need?" Mortimer scratched his head trying to think something up. He looked at his hand for a minute and then came up for an answer. "Our gloves!" he exclaimed. "We wear the same white gloves as Mickey and Goofy." Both Mortimer and Zeke held up their hands to show off their white gloves.

"So does Bugs Bunny, but he's not from Disney Castle," the keyblader retorted.

"Give us a break here kid," the mouse pleaded. "Look, I'm going to be on the level with ya. Both Zeke and I were banished many years ago, forced to wander the worlds. Unfortunately for us, we got stuck on this world a couple of months ago and now we are unable to leave. That's where you come in." Mortimer placed his arm around Trevor's shoulders. "All you have to do is open a portal to Disney Castle with your keyblade thing and everyone will be happy."

Trevor brushed the mouse's arm off his shoulder. "Why were you two banished in the first place?"

Both Zeke and Mortimer placed their hand over their heart and pretended to be on the verge of tears. "Our only crime was loving our country too much," Mortimer wept.

"Please," Trixie huffed. "We all know what you said was as fake as a three dollar bill."

"Look, all you need to know is that we were unjustly framed," Zeke explained. "And if by some chance we did do those crimes then we have learned our lesson and ready to become beneficial and well-adjusted members of society again."

"Please keyblader," Mortimer pleaded trying his best to pull off the puppy-dog-eye look. "Look into your heart and do the right thing."

"You are right," Trevor agreed. "I should look into my heart. … Well, let's go guys and leave these two to wallow in their own self-pity."

"That's not the right answer!" Mortimer yelled, his voice is now high-pitched and nasally.

"Well, you told me to listen to my heart and I did," the keyblader simply stated. "And my heart told me that you are full of B.S.."

"Please take us home!" Mortimer got on his hands and knees with Zeke following suit. "You don't know what's it like!" He grabbed Trevor's leg and started kicking his legs like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "We have been away from our home world for twenty years!"

"Twenty-three years," Zeke corrected him.

"Really?" the mouse said shocked. "Personally, I stopped counting after the seventeenth year."

"These two don't have any shame," Miranda slapped her forehead. "So, what do you what to do with them Trevor?"

"I don't trust them," the keyblader sighed. "But if we leave them alone, I have a feeling that they will keep bothering us while we are on our mission."

"We can keep them on the ship," Bonkers suggested.

"Then they will probably steal the Heart of Gold and leave _us_ stranded here," Miranda reasoned.

"We can hear you, ya know," Zeke fumed. Miranda told him that she knew which tick the wolf off even further.

"I guess I have no choice," Trevor said as he summoned his keyblade. "I'm going to open that portal."

"You are a saint!" Mortimer rejoiced.

"Only because I want you two out of my hair," the keyblader replied.

"Can you even open a portal?" Bonkers asked. "Can all keybladers do it?"

"From what I can remember it's a pretty advanced technique," Trevor said after some thought. "I know my dad can do it… But hey, how hard can it be?"

"For starters, you never been to Disney Castle," the blonde cop reminded him. "So how can you open a portal to a world you have never been before?"

"Good point," Trevor thought. "Well, there is no harm in trying." The keyblader raised his keyblader and concentrated with all of his might. He tried to keep only two words in his head: 'Disney Castle.' He then released his mana and a keyhole portal appeared a few feet in front of him.

"Alright, we're outta here!" Mortimer rejoiced as he ran for the portal. "Later losers!"

"Wait a minute," Trevor tried to warn them. "I don't think-"

"Zeke and Mortimer are out; PEACE!" the wolf interrupted and disappeared into the gateway with the mouse. When the two were gone, the portal collapsed and burst into thousands of little light that slowly faded away.

"Ugh, I tried to tell them that I don't think that portal leads to Disney Castle. At the last minute, I thought of _The City of Lost Angels_. Besides that, the portal wasn't stable," Trevor lamented.

"So you are saying those two fools can be anywhere?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah," the keyblade sighed. "Although, there's a small chance that they could wind up at Disney Castle; however I'm not holding my breath."

"But you said that the portal was unstable, meaning they could be stuck somewhere wandering between worlds," Spud deduced.

"Yes, in the Lanes Between, where they can cause serious trouble," the keyblader sighed. "Something tells me that we haven't heard the last of Mortimer and Zeke."

**KH-KH-KH**

Hours later, Rose was in her room getting ready for Homecoming. She was just about to make her final decision on what dress she was going to wear tonight when one of the Huntsclan opened her door.

"The Huntsmaster wishes to see you," the grunt ordered.

Rose sighed. "Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't."

Rose knew better than to complain. She got up and head straight toward the Huntsmaster's office wondering what was so important. As Rose entered the dark office, the first thing she noticed was the dozens of television monitors mounted on the wall behind the Huntsmaster's desk.

"Huntsgirl…I'm glad that you can make it," the Huntsmaster said darkly. "I'm surprised that you did… considering you are a traitor."

"What?"

The Huntsmaster pressed a button on his desk and all of the monitors displayed an image of Rose talking to the American Dragon, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers last night. "If you are not a traitor then how do you explain this?" Rose did not hesitate; she leapt up and attacked her former master. However, the Huntsmaster blocked her attack and sent her crashing to a nearby wall. "I have raised you as if you were my own daughter and you turn your back on me to be with a dragon!"

"I am not your daughter!" Rose yelled defiantly. "I know you kidnapped me from my parents when I was only a baby! And when I defeat you, I'm going to go look for them."

"Oh, you mean these parents?" The Huntsmaster pressed another button on his desk and live feed of a middle age couple was having dinner was shown on the monitor.

"Is that…?" Rose said taken aback.

"Yes Huntsgirl, it's your birth parents," Huntsmaster laughed. "And on my command I can send a squad to kill them; all I have to do is give the order."

Rose fell on her knees and clenched her fist. The Huntsmaster knew all along about her involvement with the American Dragon and he was prepared for it.

"If you don't want you precious parents to die then you will need to do something for me. Bring me the remaining three crystal skull from the American Dragon's hideout and maybe I will pare your life along with your parents."

What choice did Rose have? She bit her lower lip and tried to contain all of her rage and fury. Finally, she gave in. "Yes my master, I will bring you the skulls."

**KH-KH-KH**

Later that night, the middle school's Homecoming dance was at full swing on top of the pantheon building. Jake was pacing around wondering where Rose could be.

"Where is she?" Jake questioned nervously. "She should have been here by now."

"Don't worry Jake," Spud encouraged him. "I'm sure Rose will be here in no time."

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers were at dance as well. Ms. Sun Park made it so that Miranda and Trevor were chaperones to the dance. The only problem is that Bonkers had to pretend that he's a stuffed animal and Miranda had to carry him around.

"Trevor, carry Bonkers around for a while," the cop pleaded. "I'm starting to feel silly."

"And what makes you think that I want to feel silly?" Trevor protested. "It's far stranger for a man to carry around a stuffed animal than a woman."

"Just take the damn bobcat," Miranda tossed Bonkers at the keyblader. "My arms are killing me."

"Fine," Trevor huffed as he placed the cartoon under his left arm. "Anyway, don't you think that this place is strange?"

"What do you mean?" Miranda questioned.

"The gargoyles on this building, all twelve of them, are facing toward the center of the center of the building instead of facing away from the building."

"Maybe it was a simple mistake."

"Perhaps…," the keyblader pondered. "I'm also starting to wonder why the Huntsclan or Flicker hasn't made their move yet."

"Biding their time?"

"I just wish I knew what they are up to."

Then several helicopters appeared over the horizons and started to hover above the building. Dozens of Huntsclan members came out of the helicopters carrying the crystal skulls with them.

"You should have been careful what you wish for," Miranda scolded Trevor as they leapt into action.

Sun Park led all the children to the nearby elevators; their safety came first. Besides, Jake and the others can handle themselves.

When the students were evacuated the only ones left to fight the Huntsclan was Jake, Trixie, Spud, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda.

"So is the American Dragon's true human form," the Huntsmaster laughed as he approached Jake. "For years, you and I fought and never in my wildest dreams did I expect that my adversary was a mere child."

"Why are you here Huntsmaster?" Jake said as he transformed into a dragon. "Do you want your butt kicked again?"

"No American Dragon, I came to win the war." The Huntsmaster snapped his fingers and Rose appeared carrying the three crystal skulls that she stole from Lao Shi's store.

"Rose?" Jake was stunned and felt like his heart was breaking. "But why?"

"Jake, they were going to kill my parents," Rose wept. "I'm sorry."

The Huntsclan then placed the skulls in the mouths of the twelve gargoyle statues while the Huntsmaster held the thirteenth skull in his hand. The Aztec skulls started to glow and linked to one another with beams of light.

Laughing with wicked glee, the Huntsmaster held up the last crystal skull. "Prepare to meet your end, magical creatures. Power of the Crystal Skulls, I wish for the destruction of-"

Suddenly, a plunger tied to a rope, hit the skull the Huntsmaster was holding and was yanked out of his hands. Everyone turned and saw Flicker there with a makeshift grappling gun and now in possession of the crystal skull.

"Sorry Huntsmaster," Flicker stated, "but some wishes were never meant to come true."

"Well, the gang's all here," Trevor sighed as he summoned his keyblade. "That's what I hate about school dances; they are never exclusive."

"I hate to spoil everybody's fun, but I have a wish to make," Flicker said as he held up the crystal skull.

"Fools, stop him!" the Huntsmaster yelled at his grunts as they charged for the green dragon.

"I don't think so," Flicker retorted as swirls of dark magic encircled him. Fierce dragon-like Heartless, know as Windstorm, came out of the dark swirls and attack the Huntsclan devouring their hearts.

Trevor and Bonkers cast Thundaga on the Heartless, which dealt major damage. Miranda finished off five of them with a Zeninage attack. Now that the majority of Flicker's Heartless were defeated, he was wide open for attack. Both Trevor and Jake ran toward him. Jake breathed out a wave of fire and Trevor cast Aeroga. The two attacks combined to form a huge fire pillar that hit Flicker like a heated tornado. Searing from the pain of the attack, Flicker dropped the skull and it started to roll away. The Huntsmaster dove in trying to grabbed the skull, but Bonkers whacked it out of the way with his staff sending it tumbling in the air.

Both Trevor and Rose made a mad dash to catch the artifact. The keyblader tried to take Rose out of the picture by blasting her with a Firaga spell, but the young huntress expertly dodged the spell and sent Trevor flying with a spinning kick. Rose jumped up to catch the skull, but Miranda tackled her in mid-air and kicked the skull to Jake.

"Insolent little fools!" the Huntsmaster yelled. "I wish that I had the power-" As he was making his rant, the American Dragon failed the catch the crystal skull and it slipped out of his hands as if it was covered with butter and was sent flying in the air once again. "-to annihilate all of you once and for all!" Before the Huntsmaster finished his rant, the crystal skull landed on his open hand. All thirteen skulls glowed an eerie purple as they were about to grant the Huntsmaster's unintentional wish. "No, this isn't my wish!" the Huntsmaster screamed as he was being devoured by dark swirls of magic. "I wanted the destruction of all magical creatures!" The crystal skulls ignored his second wish and continued to focus all of their power on the man. The dark swirls quickly became a huge dark cloud. The cloud slowly dispersed and the world was able to see the Huntsmaster's new form. The Huntsmaster was now a dragon with scales whiter than bleached bone. It had sunken blood red eyes, the twisting horns of a ram, scythe-like talons, and huge leather wings that had a wingspan of sixty feet. The beast was enormous and frightening, like a dragon of chaos, and everyone slowly stepped away from it trying to distance themselves. With flick of its long serpent-like tongue, the Chaos Dragon swallowed the thirteenth crystal skull so no one else can make a wish.

"Well…what now?" Miranda asked in an uneasy voice.

"Running away sounds good," Bonkers whimpered.

"No, we need to destroy the crystal skulls," Jake said. "And we can't do it if one of them is in the belly of that…thing."

"So our only chance is to defeat it," Trevor steadied his keyblade.

"I know that we are enemies," Flicker said as he approached them, "but we now have a common threat. I propose a temporary truce until we vanquished this brute."

"Fine by me," the keyblader stated.

The Chaos Dragon roared causing everyone to stagger a little. It swept its tail hoping to knock the warriors off the building, but lucky for them they'd ducked. It then unleashed a plume of fire from its mouth to incinerate the warriors. Before the flames could touch the heroes, Bonkers cast NulBlaze to protect everyone.

"Huntsclan! Show everyone why we are the top dragon hunters!" Rose ordered the grunts. The Huntsclan grunts cheered and seem to have no problem attacking their former boss. They did little damage to the creature and easily crushed by one of the beast's claw.

Flicker then pulled out a laser gun he made from an old flashlight, water gun, and a battery. He charged the gun up and unleashed a devastating burst of energy at the beast. The Chaos Dragon staggered back a bit when the attack hit it, but it quickly recovered and pounded the earth with its claws creating several shockwaves.

Everyone reeled back from the shockwaves and was momentary stunned (expect Jake and Flicker who were flying at the time). Trevor swiftly cast Curaga on everyone as he and Miranda prepare their next attack.

"Limit Breaker: **X-Slash**!" Both the keyblader and Miranda rush the Chaos Dragon and slash the dragon's left front leg in an 'X' pattern. The attack was successful and managed to slice the leg off. However, the dragon rapidly regenerated its leg in less than ten seconds. Trevor turned on his heels and performed another slashing attack, but his keyblade bounced off the dragon's scales.

"Huh? The newly regenerated leg repeals my attacks?" Trevor said aloud while dodging a tail whip. "The new leg is stronger than the old one?"

"Alright, it's my turn!" Jake yelled and he tail whipped the Chaos Dragon across its face. The American Dragon was actually a good fighter and managed to gain a lot of ground, but he had one weakness; smack talk. "Yeah! How do you like it now? The American Dragon has took you to school!" Jake received a massive fireball in the face as a response from the Chaos Dragon.

"It's time to stop fooling around!" Trevor said as he gathered up his mana. "**Ultima!**" The powerful spell made a direct hit and the Chaos Dragon screeched out in pain as most of its body was torn apart. "Yes," the keyblader pumped his fist in the air. "We finally- … WHAT?" The beast began to regenerate again and this time a magical barrier surrounded it until it finished recovering. "No, it's not possible."

"Now it's going to be immune to Ultima," Miranda seethed. "On top of that, it set up a barrier to protect it while it's regenerating. How can we stop it?"

"Well, it's a dragon," Trevor reasoned. "Maybe it will yield to the god of dragons." The keyblader braced himself; summoning such a creature will deplete his mana completely. "Ruler of the skies and all of dragons, I summon thee…," Trevor chanted as he raised his keyblade. "**Bahamut**; _**come forth!**_" He plunge his keyblade deep in the ground and the skies above start to tremble.

Bahamut, in all of his glory, descended from the parting clouds and slowly spreading his wings open. The dragon god opened his huge mouth with energy and lightning starting to gather inside his maw. Once the attack was finished charging, Bahamut launched a colossal energy beam at the Chaos Dragon and its barrier. The magic barrier shattered and the Chaos Dragon didn't know what hit it. When the smoke cleared, the evil beast was now a pile of bones. Satisfied, Bahamut ascended in the heavens where he disappeared entering his own personal dimension.

All of the warriors cheered and celebrated: Trevor and Bonkers high-fived each other, Jake and Rose hugged, the Huntsclan cheered, and even Flicker and Miranda shook hands. At the height of their celebration, the Chaos Dragon's bones started to rattle. Another barrier was set up and the evil dragon began to regenerate yet again.

"Impossible," Trevor yelled stunned.

"Inconceivable!" Flicker agreed. "The beast is an unstoppable juggernaut!"

"Ultima can't kill it, Bahamut can't kill it; what will?"

"Maybe this is a side effect of the Huntsmaster's accidental wish," Rose reasoned. "He wished for the power to annihilate us all. Maybe in some weird way this also includes him being impervious to our attacks. And if, by some miracle, we find a way to kill him, he will just regenerate and adapt his body so he can't be hurt by the same attack again."

"Then how do we stop it?" Jake asked. "That's the one-million dollar question."

"If we cannot defeat the abomination then our only choice is to wish it out of existence," Flicker said, throwing his two cents in the ring.

"And how are we going to do that?" Trevor hissed at the green dragon. "It swallowed the thirteenth Aztec skull, remember?"

"Then how about we give it indigestion?" Flicker held up several items that looked like homemade grenades.

"Flicker, you're a genius!" the keyblader praised. "This might work!"

"Do you guys have a plan?" Miranda tried to rush the two. "The Chaos Dragon almost finished recovering."

"Yes I do," Trevor said with confidence. "Bonkers, when that barrier drops I'm counting on you to cast Stopra on the Chaos Dragon the next time it opens its mouth."

"Aye aye!" the cartoon bobcat saluted.

"Flicker, when the spell is cast, throw the grenades down the monster's throat."

"Yes, m' lord," Flicker also saluted.

The Chaos Dragon regeneration was complete; the barrier broke and the dragon let out a terrifying roar.

"Bonkers, NOW!" Trevor ordered.

"**Stopra!**" Bonkers chanted. A huge clock appeared over the beast head and its hour, minute, and second hand slowed down to a crawl before coming to a complete stop. The Chaos Dragon did the same and now it is frozen in time with its maw agape. If the beast wasn't so deadly, the warriors would have probably thought the dragon's frozen pose was humorous.

"Flicker, do your thing!" the keyblader barked out his orders.

"Okay, here I go!" Flicker tossed all five of his grenades in the monster's mouth where they rolled down the creature's throat and into its gut. "Everyone take cover! It's going to be a huge explosion!" The group followed the green dragon's instructions. Bonkers and Trevor cast Shell and Protect as an extra precaution. However, moments passed and nothing seemed to happen. "Oh bugger," Flicker cursed. "There must be something wrong with the trigger mechanism."

"Then we will have to set it off manually and fast; the Stopra spell is wearing off," Trevor yelled as he pointed to the Chaos Dragon. Sure enough, the beast began to move in slow motion as the spell started to wane. Trevor raised his keyblade and focused all of his remaining mana at the tip of his weapon. A massive fireball was form at the end of his keyblade, as Trevor prepared to cast the biggest fire spell in his life. "Jake, Flicker, I'm going to need your fire breath for this one." Both dragons nodded and stood by the keyblader's side. Trevor could feel the mana radiate from the two dragons as he made the final preparations for his devastating attack. "Trinity Limit: **Dragon's Bane!**" The keyblader's fire spell grew larger with each passing second. Flicker and Jake used their dragon breath to add to the spell's power. When the spell was the size of seven basketballs, Trevor whacked the flaming sphere with his keyblade and into the Chaos Dragon's mouth.

At first, nothing seem to happen; then, BOOM! The Chaos Dragon shrieked in pain and tossed its head back. After some convoluting, it spit up the crystal skull and the artifact was hurling in the air.

"Jake, launch me in the air so I can catch the skull!" the keyblader order.

"Got it!" the American Dragon grabbed Trevor, spun around, and tossed him in the air.

Trevor caught the skull and safely landed on his feet; the Chaos Dragon behind him still reeling from the attack. Now that the skull was in his hands, he wondered if he should make the wish he wanted all along; for shadow worlds and their predecessors to coexist in harmony. It was so tempting; the majority of his quest when be complete with a single wish. He licked his lips with anticipation, as he was about to make his wish.

"Trevor, what are you waiting for?" Miranda interrupted his thoughts. "Make the wish! Hurry!"

The keyblader turned around and the Chaos Dragon lunged at him with its mouth opened. Trevor held up the crystal skull and made his wish. "I wish that the Chaos Dragon no longer exists!" The foul beast stopped in its tracks and pieces of the creature burst into gray smoke. Finally, the whole body became a massive tornado threatening to suck everybody in. The warriors grabbed on to whatever that was attached to the ground and held on for dear life. The tornado ascended into the sky and the Chaos Dragon was no more.

Trevor got up and held the skull in his hands. "Well, my wish is used up," he sighed in disappointment. "I guess I have to do things the hard way." The keyblader then felt a huge pain in his gut; Flicker had kicked him. He folded over on the ground in pain as the green dragon took the crystal skull.

"I thank you, Bearer of the Key," Flicker mocked victoriously. "Now it's time for me to bring back my world!"

"Don't do it Flicker!" Miranda pleaded. "We can think of a better way."

"This _is_ the better way!" the green dragon insisted as he held the crystal skull high above head. "I wish for the world to be restore to what it once wa-" Flicker stopped for a moment and made a fatal mistake; he looked at the faces at was all around. They were full of disappointment and deep hurt. The green dragon's heart gave way and he lowered the skull unable to finish his wish. "What have I become?" he questioned himself as he was starting to have a revelation. "If I make that wish, everything I want to be, that I aspire to be one day, will be for not. How can I ever hope to be an honourable knight one day if I do not value the lives of others; even if they are mere shadows? How can I forget that a gentleman with honour always put the wellbeing of others before his own ambitions and desires?" He held out the crystal skull before him, turning his head away in shame. "Somebody take it!" Flicker pleaded. "I do not wish to be tempted anymore."

Rose ran toward the dragon and will all of her strength knocked Flicker down and raised the crystal skull. "Finally, I can make my wish."

"Rose, don't do it!" Jake begged. "The Huntsmaster is no more; your family is safe, the battle is over."

"No Jake," Rose said with a tear in her eye. "The battle isn't over yet." She held the crystal skull high above her head and made her wish. "I wish for the destruction of the Huntsclan!"

Everyone gasped when Rose finished making her wish. All of the remaining Huntsclan grunts started floating in the air, drifting up higher and higher before they burst into tiny lights becoming no more.

Rose let the skull dropped to the ground and started floating toward the sky herself. Jake transformed back into a human, ran toward Rose, and grabbed her hand; refusing to let her go.

"Rose, why did you-"

"This is the way it has to end Jake," Rose said sadly. "If the Huntsclan is allowed to continue existing, then magical creatures will still be in danger."

"But you are part of the Huntsclan. That means-"

"I know what it means. Beside, even if we destroyed the skulls they know your human identity Jake. They will go after your family, like they did mine. But now, they will be safe; they will all be safe. It's time for you to let me go." At that moment, Rose slipped out of Jake's hands and floated even higher in the sky. "Thank you for everything. I will never forget you. I will be okay, I promise." The higher Rose went, the more she faded away. You can gaze at her disappearing face and tell that she regretted nothing.

"We have to do something!" Jake yelled frantically. "We have to stop this somehow!"

"But Jake, I thought that the wishes made on the crystal skulls were irreversible," Trevor sadly stated. "There is nothing that we can do."

Jake didn't accept that, he took the crystal skull in his hands and made his wish. "I wish that Rose was never taken by the Huntsclan!" The Aztec skull glowed in a brilliant yellow light and launched a beam at Rose. Everyone then saw every memory they had with Rose with prefect clarity. The memories rewound in reverse and while Rose wasn't erased from their memories, she became like a shadow in their minds; someone who was there and yet never there at all. In a final burst of light, Rose disappeared completely leaving behind a giant keyhole. Trevor raised his keyblade and locked the world.

In a fit of anger, Jake smashed the skull on the ground destroying it. The other crystal skulls crumbled as well and the stone gargoyles that were holding them followed suit. "Consider the skulls destroyed!" Jake transformed back into a dragon and flew off into the night.

**KH-KH-KH**

The next day, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers was walking with Jake, Trixie, and Spud.

"Hey bro, how are you holding up?" Spud questioned Jake.

"I'm fine," Jake argued unconvincingly. "I just finished patrolling the city and as far as I can see Rose's wish came true; not a Huntsclan member in sight."

"But if your wish came true, then it means that Rose won't remember you," Bonkers said sadly. "Your wish has altered this world's history."

"As long as she is happy," Jake sighed. He took another stepped and accidentally bumped into someone, knocking the books out of her hand. "Sorry I-" Jake tried to help her pick up her books, but then he saw who it was. Rose was there before him. "Hey," was all that he could say to her.

"Hey yourself," Rose smiled back at him. "You look really familiar. Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Jake wanted to tell her everything in hope to reawaken her memories, but he didn't; he just couldn't. He knew that she would never believe him. "No, I'm sorry."

"Well, I better get going; my parents are waiting for me," Rose explained.

"So, I guess I'll see you around," Jake said with his hopes up.

"Actually you won't. My dad got a job overseas; we are leaving for Hong Kong first thing tomorrow. Well, it was nice talking to you." And just like that, Rose walk down the street and out of Jake's life.

"Are you going to be okay Jake?" Trixie asked with concern.

"Yeah, I think I will," Jake said with a tired smile.

"Even though she doesn't know who you are, she still recognized you," Trevor said. "It must mean that the memories of you and her still lay deep within her heart. One day those memories will be reawakened and when that day comes, I'm sure that you and Rose will be reunited again."

"Thank you Trevor," Jake said as he turned back to catch one last glimpse of his one time girlfriend. "Happy Homecoming Rose."

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the Heart of Gold, Trevor and his friends traveled down to the ship's brig to check up on their prisoner; Flicker. They entered the room and saw the green dragon looking quite pathetic behind bars.

"We are going to interrogate you now," Miranda explained. "And when we've finished, you will be teleported to Radiant Garden where you will be held until further notice."

"I understand," Flicker said softly.

"Now tell us everything that you know about the Forsaken," Trevor sat down in a chair and made eye contact with the dragon.

Flicker sighed and nodded his head. "It is the least I can do to repent for my sins. … Fine Bearer of the Key, I will tell you everything."

**Next Chapter: Revelations**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Jake Long the American Dragon: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Fu: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Rose/Huntsgirl: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Luong Lao Shi (Jake's grandfather): American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Kara: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Sara: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Arthur "Spud" P. Spudinski: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Trixie Carter: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Sun Park: American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)

Mortimer Mouse: Mickey's Rival(1936)

Zeke "Big Bad" Wolf: Three Little Pigs(1933)

Locke: Final Fantasy VI _(sometimes known as Final Fantasy III in America)_

Celes: Final Fantasy VI _(sometimes known as Final Fantasy III in America)_

Cyan: Final Fantasy VI _(sometimes known as Final Fantasy III in America)_

**A/N: Whew, I didn't expect that it would take me this long to write this chapter. In case if you are wondering, the song in this chapter (which the chapter was named after) is **_**Hands On Me**_** by Vanessa Carlton. The next chapter is coming soon, so stay tuned.**


	25. Revelations

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 24: Revelations**

"So…," Trevor began interrogating Flicker, "Where is the Forsaken hideout?"

"There is no hideout," confessed the green dragon. "We move from world to world. Zackary always says that because of the way the universe is now set up, we don't have a home. So our fate is to wander the universe as gypsies until the day we can bring back our world."

The keyblader sighed. He knew all along that his journey wasn't going to be easy, but he wished that someone would throw him a bone every once in a while. "How many members of the Forsaken are left?" he continued.

"Excluding your brother, four: Jing, Kir, Vincent, and Sasuke."

"I know what my brother can do," Trevor thought as he tried to remember all that he could of his brother. He knew that Zackary was a master magician capable of weaving together the most complicated of spells; a skill that they both inherit from their mother. Zackary was also an adequate swordsman, but his real strength lies in his speed and he's even faster than Trevor. However, Trevor knew that he must worry about his brother later. "And I know what Vincent can do as well," he continued. "What kind of powers and abilities the other three have?"

"Well, Kir is pretty much useless in combat; he's a crow you see. However, when he's teamed up with Jing, the two make a deadly combination."

"Explain."

"For starters, Both Jing and Kir came from the same world. Jing is the leader of the two and has the most fighting ability. He has a hidden blade in his right jacket sleeve and always seems to have the devil's luck; it's as if no one can best him at anything. However, his most dangerous ability is when his right hand fuses with Kir's body. It is then, he is able to perform an attack known as the Kir Royale, which he launches a green ball of energy at his foes."

"What about this Sasuke character?" Miranda questioned Flicker. "What can he do?"

"Sasuke is in the same boat as Vincent."

"What do you mean by that?" inquired Trevor.

"Both Sasuke and Vincent Valentine are affiliated with the Forsaken, but are not true members of it. The difference is that Vincent knows this and Sasuke doesn't. Zackary wants Sasuke to think he is part of the group."

"What do you mean by that?"

"When we first met Sasuke, your brother was very impressed with his abilities. Sasuke's world was taken by the Heartless, but it wasn't brought back and altered like our worlds were. Zackary knew that we may run into problems when trying to bring our worlds back and we may need some muscle to back us up. Therefore, your brother lied to Sasuke and told him that he was one of us. When he joined us, we had a heavy hitter in our group; someone to help us if things go awry."

"So, Sasuke and Vincent are kind of like the cavalry."

"Exactly. Sasuke's skills are impressive; he can use lightning and fire attacks, he's fast, agile, and strong. He also has a particular power that he calls, … oh, what was it? I believe he called it _Sharingan_, I think. It enables him to track his opponent's movements with perfect clarity and can copy any technique the he has seen perfectly; even if he seen it only once."

"Sounds like he's a powerhouse," Miranda sighed.

"Yes, he is," Flicker agreed.

"So, does that mean that Zackary will send him to force me to join the Forsaken?" questioned Trevor.

"No, probably not," the dragon shook his head. "He more concern with tracking Kyle down these days. He will probably order Vincent and Sasuke to look for Kyle."

"What do you mean track Kyle down? Isn't he in _The City of Lost Angels_? Finding him should be easy."

Flicker shook his head slowly. "Kyle apparently has left that world and is wandering the universe. For what purpose, I don't know."

This news filled Trevor's heart with dread. He instantly thought that Kyle left the world in order to confront him. However, at the same time there was some relief. If Kyle had stayed in _The City of Lost Angels_ and Zackary came to steal his heart then there was no way that Trevor could prevent that from happening. Because of the price he had to pay Yuko, he can no longer set foot on that world.

"Tell us about every member of the Forsaken," the keyblader demanded. "About everyone that join the group, especially if Zackary used Reserve Osmosis on them."

The dragon nodded and then tilted his head back in recollection. "I know that Zackary, Jessica, and Bagheera were the three founding members. Zackary used Reserve Osmosis on the both of them, but only Bagheera had enough power to awaken the faux keyblade. I was their fourth member; they found me washed up of the shores of _The Big Apple_. The next members to join were Robin Hood, Luffy and Sasuke. Robin Hood was the only one who accepted the Reserve Osmosis. The rest of us refused the faux keyblade for one reason or another. I refused because I am a squire and using a sword-like weapon is against the Code of Chivalry. Hmm,…" Flicker stopped for a moment and seemed to remember something he had forgotten. He swirled in around his head as if he was trying to make sense of it.

"And then there was Zim and Gir," the dragon continued. "Zim wanted the faux keyblade badly, but Zackary refused him."

"Why?" Trevor scratched his head in puzzlement.

"Because Zim and Gir are complete imbeciles. They kept messing up our plans and constantly getting in the way of everything. After a while, Zackary dismissed them both and they are, in all probability, wandering the worlds right now." Flicker scratched his head for a moment. "The last members to join were Heffer, Marsupilami, Jing, Kir, and finally Vincent. Both Heffer and Marsupilami received Reserve Osmosis, but they could never turn the weapons they received from the spell into faux keyblades."

"So Zackary use Reserve Osmosis on five members: Jessica, Bagheera, Robin Hood, Heffer, and Marsupilami."

"That's correct."

"I was afraid of that," the keyblader sighed.

"Trevor, what are you not telling us?" Miranda demanded.

"There's a reason why Reserve Osmosis is one of the forbidden spells. It gives a portion of the keyblader's power to someone else, increasing the non-wielder's strength ten-fold. But if the non-wielder dies, then the power that was given to him goes back to the keyblader increasing _his_ strength two-fold. Evil keybladers back in the day used this technique to increase their own power."

"So that means your brother is-"

"Yes," Trevor sighed heavily. "He's now five times as powerful." The thought disturbed him, but he quickly shrugged it off and concentrated on the task at hand. "Flicker, why did Vincent agree to work with my brother?"

"Zackary promised him revenge on Hojo, the man who experimented on him, and a place in the world _The Land of Still Meadows_ when _The City of Lost Angels_ is no more. But there's another reason why Zackary wants to keep a close eye on Vincent."

"What do you mean?"

"I share my heart with Jake Long, Luffy share his heart with Jack Sparrow, and you share your heart with Kyle. Did you ever wonder who shares their heart with your brother?"

Everyone's eyes widen when they understood what the dragon was driving at. Trevor was in a state of disbelief. "You mean…," he began but couldn't finished the sentence.

"That's right, Bearer of the Key," Flicker said softly. "Vincent Valentine shares his heart with your brother. The two are, technically, one in the same."

The keyblader put in head in his hands and sighed heavily again before bringing his head back up. He felt emotionally drain right now and the only thing he could do about it was to keep going with the interrogation. "One last thing. What world will Jing, Kir, and Sasuke might appear on?"

"In respects of Jing and Kir, they will appear on the world called _Desolate Wasteland_. As for Sasuke, like I said earlier, his world was not altered. However, Zackary tricked him into believing that the _Land of Dragons_ is his 'altered' world."

Trevor committed the names of the two worlds in memory. They now have a solid lead to where the Forsaken might strike next. "Before we wrapped this up, are you sure that Zackary didn't use Reserve Osmosis on anyone else?"

"Positive," Flicker answered confidently.

"What about Passing of the Power? He didn't give someone the power of the keyblade, did he?"

"Well," the dragon began while he was trying to search for the right words. "He did told me once that he performed the Passing of the Power ceremony on one young woman; giving her the power of the keyblade."

"What?" Trevor yelled tremendously shocked. "What is the name of this woman?"

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia was busy typing away at the ship's computer console late in the night. PJ and Max were fast asleep and she did not want to wake them. She was sleeping only moments before, but as she lay dreaming of things that were and events that might be, a disturbing thought popped into her head. It swirled around in her subconscious and leaked into her awaking mind making itself know. It was as if the stray thought provided several missing pieces to a puzzle linking two separate pictures and combining them to form one grand picture.

Cynthia didn't like this picture.

The keyblader quickly went through the logs that Miranda had email PJ. Lucky for her, Miranda kept detail log entries making the picture that she wanted to find easy. She quickly found the photo that Bagheera given to Trevor when he was in Cape Suzette. Cynthia stared at Trevor's family photo; her eyes fixated on a fifteen-year-old Zackary. _'It can't be the same person,'_ Cynthia thought to herself. _'It has to be a different Zackary.'_

She then opened a computer program that allows her to digitally manipulate photos. The keyblader imported Trevor's photo into the program and pressed the Shift and f12 keys on her keyboard simultaneously. A new window appeared asking her would she like to do age progression on the people in the photo and by how many years. She specified that she wanted to age the people in the photograph by 11 years and clicked OK button. The program altered and rendered the photo. Cynthia's eyes widened when it finished. A much older Zackary was in the picture and it looked like the Zackary she knew long ago.

_**(Flashback)**_

One year and six months ago, Traverse Town was experiencing an uneasy night. Cynthia was on top of a building in the second district gazing at the stars above her. The moonlight shined down on her radiant dark skin and her hair gently swayed in the breeze. She knew that the Heartless was restless tonight; it was as if something or someone were making them go crazy.

She heard a loud crash coming from behind her. Cynthia turned around and realized it was coming from the third district. The young woman grabbed her weapon of choice, a fighting staff known as a jō, and ran across the rooftops to see what the ruckus was. When she reached the third district, she peered down from one of the rooftops and saw a young boy fighting a Guard Armor along side a duck and a dog.

Cynthia was about to join in on the fight, when she noticed the weapon the boy was carrying. _'Wait a minute…is he fighting the creature with a sword shape like a key? Is that…a keyblade? I thought those were a myth!'_ She watched with complete awe as the boy and his companions took on the Heartless.

The group destroyed the Guard Armor in the matter of moments. The boy's skill amazed Cynthia. She could tell the boy was an amateur, but knew that one day the kid was going to be a great warrior.

A couple of days later, the whole town were talking about this mysterious boy with the keyblade; a boy named Sora. The elders who know of the keyblade and the many legends surrounding in were especially excited. "The keybladers have returned," one would say. "Soon, this world and all others will be rid of those filthy creatures; those Heartless." "Don't get me wrong, I am happy," said another, "but to entrust the fate of the universe to some kid? What was the keyblade thinking choosing that kid to be its master?" "Destiny can call on anyone at any given time," said a kindly old woman, "It often picks the most unlikely of heroes. This boy has what it takes to save the universe; otherwise, it would not have chosen him. In this life, we are never given more than we can bear. I'm sure that this Sora fellow will do an excellent job."

The back and forward discussion about Sora went on for days and Cynthia loved it. She knew no world outside of Traverse Town and long to see the outside world. Along with the discussion of Sora, various people talked about their home worlds and all of the wonderful things about them before the Heartless destroyed them. Cynthia got the rare opportunity of hearing stories and legends of far-off worlds. It was a delight for her, since most people and refugees find it painful to talk about their destroyed worlds.

Everyone in life experiences a chance encounter where their life is taken to another direction. Cynthia experienced hers only a few days later. It was late into night and she couldn't sleep. A restlessness was growing inside her that demanded her attention. It cried out in pain, wanting her to escape her room; wanting her to yield to this impromptu wanderlust. She obeyed this desire and quietly left her apartment to take a stroll.

She found herself in the familiar first district where a cold breeze was blowing through it from the north. Cynthia hugged herself tightly to keep herself warm, silently cursing herself for not bringing a jacket. She was about to head back home when the door to the first district opened a figure came straggling out.

It was a man around the age of twenty-five, with dark hair and glasses. The stranger looked as if he was half-dead, half-asleep, and that his body was moving on its own accord instead of his will. The man barely made five steps before collapsing on the ground. Cynthia ran toward him to make sure he's okay. She checked his pulse; he was still alive. There was no time to run and get help, chances are that when she come back the Heartless would have gotten him. She had no choice, but to drag him to a safe place and care for him herself.

Unfortunately, the safest place that Cynthia can think of was the hotel in the second district. She flopped the stranger on the bed in the red room and felt his forehead; he was having a fever. Cynthia desperately looked around the room for a water source, but couldn't find one. _'Out of all the hotels in the universe, I'm in the only one that doesn't have a bathroom or a sink,'_ she thought furiously. She looked under the bed and saw a hidden minibar. The young woman opened it, grabbed several cold water bottles, and ripped a piece of cloth off the bed sheet. She drenched the fabric with cold water and placed it on the man's head. Cynthia didn't have to worry about paying for the bed sheet or the water, because the owner of the hotel didn't survive the town's last Heartless outbreak.

After a few minutes, there was a violent banging on the door, as if someone was trying to break into the hotel room. Cynthia looked outside her window and saw a whole swarm of Heartless outside the hotel. The Heartless in blind hunger wanted frantically to feast on the two isolated hearts in the hotel. Cynthia kicked herself mentally for not bringing her jō with her, but she's not going down without a fight. She braced her mentally and tried to psych herself up.

Before she could open the door to face her challengers, a brilliant light flickered throughout the room. She looked behind her a keyblade appearing in the stranger's right hand. It was a keyblade of elegant design, as if a professional artisan, with superior skill, designed it for a prince. Most of the weapon looked like a sword only used for ceremonious occasions. The hilt and the guard were made of gold with graceful patterns of nature and royalty engraved on them. The blade itself was as wide as a broadsword and had a hypnotizing shine to it as it gleams in the lamplight. The teeth of the blade were in the shape of a single silver wing that stretched out as if it was preparing for flight. The keychain was made of links of gold rings that connected the weapon to a small trinket shaped like a diamond shield. The name of the keyblade was simple; _Integrity_.

The man robotically raised the keyblade in the air even though he's still unconscious. "Rid this area from all matters of evil," he said in a cross between a mumble and a sigh. "Sacred Ground," when the words left his lips a barrier was form around the hotel and all the Heartless retreat in total fear. The Heartless who were foolish enough to test their luck were destroyed when they came in contact with the barrier. The keyblade disappeared and his arm fell limp by his side.

Cynthia was amazed. She couldn't believe that the man before her was a keyblader like Sora or that the man was able to cast a spell while he was unconscious. She checked the keyblader's temperature again; it was coming down, but he's still burning up. Cynthia re-soaked the strip of cloth, placed it on the keyblader's forehead again, and hoped for the best.

Three hours flew by and the keyblader's fever was gone. However, he was still unconscious and the barrier he set up was waning. Cynthia was getting worried. If the barrier collapses then the Heartless might return. She heard the keyblader stir in the bed and turned around to see what was the matter. The man slowly began to rise running his left hand through his hair.

"Careful," Cynthia warned the man as she tried to make him lay down again. "You're not fully recovered yet."

The man refused her advice and sat up anyway. He summoned his keyblade and in a clear voice said, "Curaga." A warm green light enveloped him and he felt all of his strength returning. "Where am I?" he said to Cynthia, "and where is my family?"

"You are in Traverse Town," answered Cynthia. "And as for your family, I don't know where they are; you are the only one I found."

"I see…," the stranger said solemnly. "I've to find them."

"Don't you understand? You are in another world." The keyblader turned to face Cynthia. The look he gave her was not of surprise or confusion, but of quiet understanding.

"This isn't my first rodeo," he said half-jokingly. "I know that my world has fallen into the darkness and I know about the existence of other worlds; I've traveled throughout the worlds some time ago." A stray thought hit him and he looked at Cynthia, giving her a peculiar look. "How do _you_ know about the existence of other worlds?"

"Like I said, this is Traverse Town," she explained. "The people who live here came from other worlds. Some of them lost their homes to the Heartless, while others just don't want to go back to their home worlds for one reason or another. You don't have worry about the world order or hide the fact that you're a keyblader."

"Good to know," the man said before he walked out of the door.

"Hey, it's cold out there! You could catch a cold!" Cynthia grabbed a clothing article off the nearest coatrack and followed the man outside. She threw the article of clothing over the man and helped him put it on. However, there was not much to put on. "Huh? This isn't a jacket? It looks more like a cloak."

"Blue isn't my color," the man joked.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers."

"But, I didn't beg for anything." Cynthia gave him a sour look and he couldn't help but laugh heartily. "I like you; you have spunk. The name's Zackary by the way."

"Cynthia," the young woman introduced herself. "Excuse me for gushing, but you are the second keyblader that I saw in my entire life."

"Who was the other keyblader?" Zackary pleaded. "Was his name Matthew or Trevor?"

"No, his name is Sora."

"Oh…," Zackary said crestfallen.

Cynthia hated to see this man down. "I'm sure your family is all right. Everyone who lost their homeworld comes to this place sooner of later. If you wait a while longer I'm sure you will run into them." Zackary flashed a smile and she flashed one right back. "Come on, let me show you around."

And so, Cynthia gave the grand tour of all Traverse Town. After she showed him all of the three districts, she led Zackary to the fountain in the third district. The young woman pressed a hidden button on the side of the fountain and part of the wall left of it opened up and revealed a hidden doorway.

"This is the way to lost district number four," Cynthia said with a smile.

"Why is this a lost district?"

"Well, it's not really lost as so much as it is protected by those who live here." They entered the doorway and had to past through a veil of light. "Aerith and other white mages had set up the barrier to protect this district from the Heartless," Cynthia continued explaining as they walk down a long flight of stairs that lead to an iron door. "We usually don't tell anyone about this district if they don't plan to stay for long or if we feel that there is too much darkness in their heart."

"What do you do with people like that?"

"The Heartless usually care of them," she said in a quiet voice.

Cynthia opened the iron door and both officially entered the fourth district; the living quarters for those who have lost their homes. Most of the buildings were apartments about seven stories high with each living space pack full of people. Some people also lived in makeshift dwellings made of cardboard, scrap wood, and anything else that they can find.

"This is horrible," Zackary said with a loss of words.

"It wasn't always like this. Before the Heartless outbreak, it was a pleasant place to live in. But now, there are so many people who have lost their homes and we cannot build enough apartments fast enough."

They walk through the fourth district quietly and on occasion Cynthia will speak about life in this world and all the different way its denizens planned to make it better. When they reached the last part of the fourth district, Cynthia couldn't help but smile.

"This is the Traverse Town zoo, its one of my favorite places on the world."

"You guys have a zoo?" Zackary asked as they entered the gates.

"Well…it's more like a holding pen," Cynthia confessed. "People aren't the only ones who have lost their homes to the Heartless; animals have too. Whenever a wild animal arrivals here we capture them and place them here where they can't hurt anyone or hurt themselves."

They went from holding pen to holding pen staring at all of the exotic animals. Many of the animals Zackary had never seen before, despite the fact he had traveled the universe before. At last, they came to a pit that has been fenced in. Inside the pit was a black panther, completely indifferent to the two humans watching it.

Zackary looked at the panther with a curious look while Cynthia continued on talking. "We had a great deal of trouble bringing this one in," she explained.

"I think I know this panther…"

"What?" Cynthia gave the keyblader a hard look. "It's a wild animal, how could you possibly know it?"

Zackary didn't pay attention to her. "Bagheera!" he called out. The black panther looked up at him and stared at him with curiosity. "I thought so," the keyblader rejoiced.

Cynthia had her arms folded. "Care to tell me what going on?"

"This panther is Bagheera. Me and my brother met him when we were younger and traveled to a world called _Ivory Jungle_. He has helped us a couple of times." He focused his attention back to the panther. "Bagheera, it's me, Zackary. You know, Trevor's older brother." The panther got up and seemed to have a smile on its face as its tail twitch.

Zackary climbed over the fence and Cynthia grabbed a hold of him. "Are you crazy?" she yelled at him. "He's a dangerous animal, you can be killed!"

"Relax, he's my friend," Zackary simply stated as he broke free from Cynthia's grip and jumped into the pit.

Cynthia stared at Zackary with complete disbelief, thinking that the keyblader abandoned all common sense. "… White people…," she cursed before jumping in after him.

The keyblader approached the black panther with no fear, but Cynthia kept her distance. The panther then pounced on Zackary and Cynthia let out a terrified scream. To her surprise, Zackary was laughing; the panther was only licking his face playfully. "Bagheera, stop! No licking!" Zackary yelled with joy. The keyblader managed to get the panther off him and hugged the big cat.

Cynthia couldn't grasp what was happening; it was beyond her understanding. "What just happen?"

"Like I said before, Bagheera is my friend. Bagheera tell her." The black panther utter a noise that sounded like a growl in response.

"I don't think he agrees with you," Cynthia said fearfully.

"That's right, every few people can understand the animal language," Zackary scratched his chin.

"So there's a language now?" Cynthia yelled hysterically. "And you expect me to believe you can understand that wild beast?"

"Maybe you will feel better if you able to understand him." Zackary summoned his keyblade, pointed at Bagheera, and began to cast him spell. _"Endless winds and desert's sand. Give this beast the syntax of man!"_ A light enveloped the panther for a second before disappearing.

After a few moments of silent, Cynthia wasn't impressed. "Well?" she said irritable.

"Well what?" Bagheera said in perfect English.

Cynthia jumped and uttered a cry while Zackary gave out a laugh. "It can talk!" the young woman said in shock.

"I'm not an 'it'," the panther complained. "My name's Bagheera and I don't appreciate that you people stuck me in this hole."

"Well then, let's get out of here," Zackary said as he looked for an exit.

"He can't get out of here!" Cynthia yelled at the keyblader while pointing at Bagheera. "It doesn't matter if he can talk or not, he's still a wild animal. He can't be allowed to roam the streets."

"Fine," Zackary sighed. "I guess I just make him more like us." He pointed his keyblade at the panther again. "How did the spell go again?" he questioned himself. "I think it's: _'Now this creature has been granted the gift of rationalization, gave him a form fit for civilization!'_"

Swirls of light surrounded the panther; his back arched as his front paws became hands and his rear paws transformed into feet. The light slowly faded away and Bagheera stood before them as an anthro-panther. There was only one side effect; Bagheera had no clothes on.

Zackary turned away, Cynthia covered her eyes with her hands, and poor Bagheera tired to cover his shame. The keyblader quickly gave the panther his cloak so he had something to cover himself up.

"Conjure him up some clothes!" Cynthia demanded.

"There's no such spell," Zackary said weakly.

"Well, you can't leave me here like this," Bagheera panicked as he struggled to make the cloak cover all of him. "Even with this cloak, I feel so…exposed!"

"There's a clothing store down the street," Cynthia suggested. "We can go there and-"

"YOU WANT ME TO WANDER IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS?" Bagheera yelled pathetically.

"He's right," agreed the keyblader. "Is there a place that he could hide from prying eyes while we look for him some clothes?"

"I thought of something better," Cynthia said with her eyes still close. "There a secret passageway that leads back to the hotel in the second district. We will find some clothes for Bagheera there."

It took them five minutes to sneak out of the fourth district and enter the hotel in second district. Once there Cynthia entered the red room and rapidly looked through the wardrobes and drawers, pulling out all of the clothes she could find. The sad fact was that many people who are new to Traverse Town stay at the hotel thinking at it's safe, but only to discover that the Heartless have no trouble entering the building.

She threw a pile of clothes at Bagheera who was hiding behind the bed. "Here, wear what you like."

The panther grabbed an article of clothing, which happens to be white briefs, and examined it in curiosity. "How will this garment accommodate my tail?"

"Okay, that's my cue to leave," Cynthia threw her hands in the air. "Zackary, stay here and help him dress. I'll wait outside."

Minutes passed and Cynthia was shivering in the cold air. The door next to her opened and both Zackary and Bagheera stepped out.

"It takes fifteen minutes to dress a panther?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow.

"Only if the panther never put on clothes before," Zackary responded. He stepped aside allowing Cynthia to get a better look at Bagheera. "How does he look?"

Bagheera was wearing an old fashion brown pilot jacket with a white athletic tee underneath. He also wore matching brown cargo pants with black boots. The panther tried to give the cloak back to Zackary, but the keyblader said that he could keep it.

"Not bad," Cynthia said after a brief examination.

At that moment, Zackary's stomach growled. The keyblader turned red with embarrassment and looked away. "Is there, by any chance, a restaurant nearby," he said meekly.

The three went to the first district where Cynthia took them to a small café. Over dinner, Zackary was telling them stories of when his father took him and his brother all across the worlds to train them. Cynthia enjoyed the keyblader's stories. Hearing tales from other worlds were always exciting to her and it helped that Zackary was an expert storyteller.

"-and so Trevor and Mowgli tied a burning torch to Shere Khan's tail!" Zackary said with excitement as he recounted his experiences on the world the _Ivory Jungle_. "Now imagine the most frightening killing machine ever reduced to a scaredy-cat; that's what happened to Shere Khan!"

Everyone laughed and Bagheera added, "It was an amusing sight. After that, Shere Khan never entered our part of the jungle again."

"The next world we traveled to was the strangest world I've ever been to," Zackary continued. "If I remember correctly, the world was called Lake Hoohaw."

"It must have been an exciting world," Cynthia blurted out in anticipation.

"Actually, it wasn't," Zackary admitted. "It's a peaceful world; hardly anything bad happens in it. It was a relief for my father. It seems that every world we went to was having some sort of crisis and like fools, Trevor and I had to stick our noses in it. However, since the world was a laid-back one, my father could train us in peace. On that world, my brother and I met three otters with the weirdest names: their names were Peanut, Butter, and Jelly."

Cynthia squealed with delight. "Shut up! You just made that up!"

"Hand to God, it's the truth. Although, I should have said Peanut, Jelly, and Butter since Butter was the youngest."

"It must be exciting being born into a family of keybladers," Cynthia sighed as she picked up a French fry. "You and your brother are so lucky to be one of the few people chosen to be keybladers."

"It's not as great as you think," the keyblader sighed. "And my brother Trevor is only a keyblader because I decided to pass the power to him. My father didn't think he was worthy of it."

"Why not?"

"Even though my father was willing to train Trevor, he fears that Trevor's heart was too aimless, too unfocused. Such qualities are ill fitting for a keyblader and my father felt that Trevor could not improve himself in these areas. Therefore, my father only passed me the power; Trevor took it pretty hard at the time…

"When our world was being attack by the Heartless, I knew that we needed more than two keybladers to fight the onslaught. Trevor was the best and only candidate since he went through the training and knew about the power of the keyblade. I passed the power unto him so we have a fighting chance, but it did not do any good. Me and Trevor were separated during the fight and…well…our world fell into darkness…"

Cynthia grabbed Zackary's hand to support him and Bagheera followed suit. "I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. "I wished there was something that I could do…"

"What's that?" Bagheera pointed in the sky. The two humans looked up and saw a shooting star streak across the night sky. The star seem to grow larger and larger as if was heading toward them. Then the sonic boom came and the shockwave rattled the windows. The falling star then blazed over their heads and landed somewhere in the third district.

"Another person who lost their home has arrived," Cynthia sighed heavily. "Although, they usually don't enter the world so…noisily."

"Maybe it's my brother, or my father, or maybe my mother," Zackary said with cautious hope as he got up.

"Maybe," Cynthia said getting up as well. "We better check on them before the Heartless get to them first."

They rushed to the third district and saw five Shadow Heartless surrounding a body. Zackary dispatched three of the Heartless while Cynthia destroyed the rest of them with a series of flying kicks.

When they destroyed the creatures, the three of them huddled around the body to see if the person was all right. The person was a very beautiful woman, whose beauty was so radiant that even when she was unconscious everything about her looked animated. The woman stirred and the three backed off to give her some breathing room. As the mysterious woman became more aware of her surroundings, she became more panicked.

"Where am I?" she said trying to get a grip on herself. "Where is my husband, Roger?"

"Relax, you're safe," Cynthia tried to calm the woman down. "You're in a town called Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town?" the woman said not understanding. "I don't know any Traverse Town. Is it near Hollywood?"

"You're not in your world anymore," Zackary said empathically. "The world that you once knew is now gone, lost to the darkness. Luckily your heart was strong enough to find its way here."

"My husband, where is he?" the woman demanded as she got up defiantly. "I want to see my husband now!"

"You are the only one we found here," Cynthia sighed. "But if it's alright, could you tell us your name?"

The woman hesitated a bit before speaking. "Jessica," she said. "Jessica Rabbit."

"Well Jessica, I'm sure that your husband is all right and will come to this world soon," Cynthia reassured her.

Zackary felt a chill run down his spine and summoned his keyblade. "They are here," he warned them.

A dark magic barrier was set up to prevent the group from escaping. Zackary steadied his keyblade, Bagheera pull out his claws, Jessica reached for a pistol she'd hidden away in her dress, and Cynthia shifted to a fighting stance.

"I really wish I've brought my jō tonight," she cursed.

A dark smoky cloud descended on the battlefield and twisted itself into a vortex. A giant Heartless stepped out of the whirlwind and gave a terrifying roar. It resembled a large raptor with black scales and the Heartless emblem on its back. The beast charged them and knocked them over like bowling pins. Everyone tried to get back up but the Heartless fired an energy blast from its maw causing everyone to scatter.

Zackary fired a Thundaga spell and Jessica fired off a couple of rounds, but the Heartless dodged them with ease thanks to its near superhuman speed.

Cynthia ran to the creature and unleashed a spinning back kick across the beast's head. Before the young woman could touch ground again, the Heartless quickly recovered from the attack and tail whipped her sending her flying across the district. Bagheera caught her before she could slam into a wall.

"There shouldn't be Heartless this powerful in Traverse Town," Cynthia said aloud.

"All the more reason to destroy it," Zackary yelled as he prepared his next spell. "Maybe paralysis will slow this beast down. **Break!**" Gray puffs of smoke surrounded the Heartless and were absorbed in the skin. The monster's movements became sluggish right before it was completely paralysis.

Bagheera lashed out at the petrified monster with his razor sharp claws while Jessica fired off round after round. The Break spell quickly wore off and the Heartless was free to move again. It clawed at Jessica and tried to stomp on Bagheera. The panther dodged rolled off to safety and Zackary cast _Protect_ on Jessica to protect her.

Cynthia ran up and the Heartless and Zackary did too. "Together now!" the keyblader yelled. They both jumped up high over the Heartless. Zackary did a downward slash on the creature while Cynthia performed a devastating spinning roundhouse kick. The beast of darkness stumbled and its body slowly melted away releasing its heart.

While watching the heart float away Zackary whispered to Cynthia. "For someone with no weapon you sure know how to fight."

"Why of course," Cynthia scoffed jokingly. "All citizens of Traverse Town must learn how to fight. It's for our survival." Her face became more serious and solemn. "Those who can't fight will die; it's a sad fact about this world. That's why it's important to learn how to fight in any given situation, with any weapon; even if that weapon is your empty hands…"

"Could someone please tell me what's going on," Jessica said impatiently.

Cynthia and Zackary smiled at each other knowing there was a lot of material to cover. "All right," Cynthia nodded, "but it's going to take a while to explain."

Two days later, the four walked toward to door leading out of the first district and the world entirely.

"Do you guys really have to go?" Cynthia asked. "Since the three of you lost your homes, you're free to stay here as long as you like."

Zackary smiled and shook his head. "It's very kind of you, but we must look for a way to bring back our worlds, all worlds, from the darkness. There also must be a way to end this Heartless epideictic. You could join us if you like. You are a good fighter and you said always wanted to see the universe."

Cynthia beamed a bright smile and looked up at the stars. "I would love to…but I'm afraid I can't. The Heartless is still a major problem in this world and so until things settle down here, I can't travel with you. I have responsibilities here and I must take care of them before I can begin an epic journey. By the way, I have gifts for all of you." She pulled out two items and gave them to Zackary and Jessica. "Since Bagheera has your blue cloak Zackary, I made you another one. I made one for you too Jessica. Now all of you can match together like fraternal triplets." Jessica thanked her and well as Zackary. The young woman then took off her dream catcher necklace and gave it to the keyblader. "This is my final gift to you. It's called a dream catcher. It's a charm that supposes to catch nightmares, so you only dream good dreams. May this charm catch all of your nightmares so you can continue to follow your dreams."

"Thank you," Zackary smiled as he took the charm. "Now it's time for my gift to you." He summoned his keyblade and beckon Cynthia to touch the hilt on it. "Technically, only a Keyblade Master can only do this, but what the hell, you deserve this gift." When she placed her hand on the weapon, he began the ceremony.

"In your hand take this key.

So long as you have the makings,

Then though this simple act of taking,

Its wielder you shall one day be

And you will find me, friend-

No ocean will contain you then.

No more borders around, or below, or above,

So long as you champion the ones you love."

Cynthia wasn't sure what was going on, but felt a certain pride swell up within her.

"I passed the power unto you," Zackary said. "One day, when your heart is ready, a keyblade will choose you." Cynthia gasped in delight, uncertain how to act. "Traverse Town needs a keyblader to protect it," Zackary continued. "It might as well be you."

Cynthia jumped and embraced the keyblader, overflowing with joy and gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

"No problem," he hugged back.

The four of them said their final goodbyes and Cynthia watched as Zackary lead Bagheera and Jessica out of Traverse Town for good.

_**(End Flashback)**_

Cynthia quietly pounded the computer counsel, silently cursing herself. How she not see the connection between her and the Forsaken? Not only she met Zackary in the past, she's a keyblader because of him. It eased her mind that she knew Zackary before this Forsaken nonsense, but not by much. She wondered if she had agreed to travel with Zackary could she stop him from going down the path that he was on now. She shook her head; there was no use in worrying about what could have been; she need to focus on the present.

The female keyblader leaned back in her chair, clasped her hands together, and stared at the ceiling. The only light in the room was the computer screen in front of her. She reflected on all of the memories that she had with Zackary looking for a weakness that he may have, but turned up empty. She still could not believe that Zackary will do something so stupid. What she was feeling was the equivalent of someone finding out that their sweet best friend they knew all their life had committed a heinous crime. Cynthia did not know Zackary for a long time, but Zackary had a charm about him, a certain openness. He had an air of regal and nobility about him in a slacker sort of way. Zackary was easy to be around with and after spending five minutes with him, you can be convinced that he is incapable of doing something evil. Something stupid maybe, but not evil.

She was deep in her thoughts, when the chimes when off, alerting her that someone was calling her. Cynthia quickly turned off the chimes so Max and PJ will not be disturbed, and press a button on the counsel to answer the call. The computer screen then displayed Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers staring back her.

"Cynthia…we need to talk," Trevor began.

Cynthia didn't say a word, but just nodded her head.

"We'd captured one member of the Forsaken some time ago. A few moments ago we teleported him to Radiant Garden, but not before interrogating him," Trevor continued. "I hate to beat around the bush so I'm just going to ask you two questions: In the past, did you have any have any contact with my brother and who passed you the power of the keyblade?"

Cynthia gulped and noticed a bead of sweat running down her forehead.

**KH-KH-KH**

Zackary was lying on top off a hotel roof gazing at the stars. The Banana Cabana was a strange hotel, with a giant plastic banana displayed both proudly and crudely on the highest point of the roof. The keyblader reached in his shirt and pulled out the dream catcher charm that Cynthia gave him long ago. He stared at it thoughtfully for a time before a sly smile spread across his face. On one hand, he was proud of Cynthia; her progress is faster than any other keyblader he had ever seen.

'_Even though she cannot use magic, she been able to compensate for her handicap,'_ Zackary thought. _'She has a brilliant mind. It's a shame that she's working against me; she could have been a powerful ally.'_

He felt Vincent and Sasuke's presence and turned around. Both his underlings looked tired and exhausted, as if they ran a marathon. "Have you found Kyle?" he simply asked.

"No." It was weird hearing Vincent Valentine out of breath. His cold dead eyes now had a world-weariness in them. Zackary had to turn his head to avoid looking into them. "He was here though. We must have just missed him. Apparently, he and his comrades helped a yellow dog named Howie dev-"

"I don't care _what_ he has done!" the keyblader said with an edge in his voice. "I want to know _where_ he is!"

"We, unfortunately, don't know," Sasuke confessed. "But I have gathered useful intel. Kyle is apparently traveling with a white rabbit that can copy enemies' spells perfectly and a blue-gray otter that has a sword that can take on the attributes of any element."

Zackary thought about this for a moment. "So he's traveling with a Blue Mage and a Mystic Knight." The keyblader sighed heavily, frustrated that he has to hunt down his target and that the target had potential powerful allies with him. "It's time to move on to the next world," he said getting up and putting away his dream catcher charm. "The three of us should split up so we can cover more worlds faster."

"Yes, Zackary," Vincent and Sasuke said simultaneously.

"We shall not rest until Kyle's heart is in my hands."

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers watched Cynthia's nervous reaction on the screen. They saw the keyblader recollected herself and said in an even voice, "Yes, I have met your brother in the past and he was the one who had passed me the power."

"You're a keyblader because of Zackary and you didn't tell anyone about it?" Trevor yelled.

"Well, you didn't tell us that Zackary was your older brother until a couple of weeks ago; in fact, Leon had to tell us!" Cynthia defended herself.

"I have amnesia!" Trevor yelled at the top of his lungs. "What's your excuse? Selective memory loss?"

"Both of you! Calm down!" Miranda ordered and the two keybladers fell silent. After a few moments have passed, the cop turned her attention back to the screen. "Cynthia, what side are you on?"

"I'm on your side!" Cynthia pressed. "It's just…when I met Zackary it was before Sora locked Kingdom Hearts and brought back every one of the lost worlds. Zackary was a different man then, a kinder man. I guess some part of me knew that the Zackary of the forsaken and the Zackary I met a long time ago were one in the same; I just didn't want to believe it."

"I know how you feel," Trevor admitted. "There's not a single minute that goes by where I don't wish otherwise."

"What are you going to do?" Cynthia asked. "What is your next plan of action?"

"Me and my team discuss this and we decided to find a keyblader named Kyle so we can protect him from my brother. We're going to leave all affairs about Naraku to you and the other keybladers for now. I'm the only one who knows Zackary inside and out, so it's my responsibility to bring him to justice."

"It would make my job easier," Cynthia nodded. "From the reports you gave us, Naraku's only ally is Light Yagami. If only we knew where Naraku is hiding…"

A long silence followed and neither party knew what to say nor did they want to hang up on each other. "So…," Trevor said after a while, trying to make conversion, "Before you became a keyblader did you have the dream about the murals?"

"Yeah," Cynthia nodded. "It was very strange dream; so vivid."

"What weapon did you choose?"

"What?"

"In the dream I chose the sword and gave up the shield. How about you?"

"Oh," Cynthia said when she realized what he was talking about. "I chose the shield and gave up the staff."

"You chose the shield?" Trevor said in shock. "No one chooses the shield! Why did you do something like that?"

"Good-bye Trevor," Cynthia said angrily right before she cut the video feed.

**KH-KH-KH**

Back on the _City of Lost Angels_, the citizens of the world gathered together and there was an excitement in the air. However, there was not a festival going on. The citizens were up in arms, carrying guns, bats, and any weapon they could find while chasing two figures through the streets. The two people that they were chasing were Mortimer Mouse and Zeke Wolf.

The people were scared out of their minds because of the Heartless outbreak. The creatures did not fit in their worldview and they looked for somebody to blame. Then they found Mortimer and Zeke, two beings so different from them. Because the mouse and the wolf were not human, they reasoned that the two are the ones responsible for the Heartless. In a frenzy of fear and panic, the citizens took it upon themselves to rid the world of such strange and hideous creatures.

"A fine mess you got us into," Mortimer yelled at the wolf as they ran from the crowd.

"Me?" Zeke yelled back. "This is your fault. In fact, everything is your fault! If you hadn't tried to steal Minnie away from King Mickey we wouldn't be exiled!"

"Don't you dare pin this all on me!" the mouse yelled as he dodged a thrown pitchfork. "I wasn't the one who desired epic battles every other week."

"Don't change the subject!"

"You're the one who brought it up!"

The two then ran into an alleyway to escape the crowd, but they were still being followed. They bobbed and weaved through the backstreets and every time they think they lost the crowd, the mob finds them again.

"You're a canine," Mortimer pointed out. "Use that nose of yours to help us find a way out of this mess."

"That's an offensive stereotype!" Zeke yelled. "Besides, I'm not some dumb bloodhound!"

"Just do it!"

"Fine!" Zeke took a big sniff and caught a unique scent. "This way!" he pointed to a narrow road that led to another alleyway.

The two misfits hop over trashcans and dodged the crowds as they followed whatever direction Zeke's nose points them. They finally arrived at a beach that stretched for miles in each direction.

"You brought us to a beach?" Mortimer screamed. "You idiot! There's no cover here! We're sitting ducks!"

"You told me to follow my nose and this is where it led me," Zeke defended himself. "I cannot help it if my nose likes the salty air!"

Mortimer nervously looked behind him, but saw no sign of the mob that was chasing them. "We seem to have lost them."

"And you were worried that I couldn't get us out of this mess."

"Without me you couldn't get out of a paper bag," the mouse boasted. "I would be mad at you if I wasn't so angry at that two-bit keyblader! He's the one who got us into this mess!"

"Yeah!" Zeke agreed with full conviction. "Instead of sending us to _Disney Castle_, he sent us to this screwed up world!" The wolf kicked some sand around. "Lousy no-good keybladers. They always ruin our lives, haven't they?"

"Shh!"

"Did you just 'shh' me?"

"Yes you big galoot, now shh!" Mortimer shushed the wolf. "Look over there, in the distance."

Zeke looked down the beach and saw a small faint image staring out to sea. He knew that he seen the image before, but couldn't put his finger on it. Slowly the gears in his head turned and the wolf came to a realization. "King Mickey!" he exclaimed. "What is he doing here?"

"How should I know?" Mortimer hissed. The mouse turned his attention back to his former king. "Look, someone is coming to meet him."

"What do we do?"

"We, my friend, wait for an opportunity to present itself."

**KH-KH-KH**

King Mickey stared out into the sea disappointed that he didn't find the answers that he was looking for. There was no use crying over spilled milk, he decided it was time to leave this world and check to see how Sora and Riku were progressing in their Mark of Mastery exam. Before he could leave the world, he turned around and saw a man walking toward him.

"King Mickey, I presume?" The man said. He was a tall, graying man who wore horn-rimmed glasses and a light gray suit. The man adjusted his blue tie and spoke in a clear, even voice. "My name is Matthew Birch of the Birch Keyblade Family that guards the Realm of Twilight. I believe you have met my son, Trevor."

King Mickey's eyes light up and he shook Matthew's hand. "It's a real honor meeting you, Prince Matthew. Besides your son, I have never met anyone from any of the three royal keyblade families."

Matthew laughed. "You don't have to call me prince, that title is merely ceremonious. Especially now since, the Willow family and the Blackthorn family are now no more."

"So what brings to do this world?"

"I imagine it is the same reason you are also here; to see if there is any truth to this 'shadow world' nonsense that my other son is spewing out."

"What have you found?"

"Where is some truth to it," Matthew said sadly. "This world may not be the _Land of Still Meadows_, but I can feel its faint presence here. It's like a ghost lurking in every shadow and corner of a house; despite what you see on the surface, you feel that if you peel away a couple of layers then a fragment of some forgotten past will reveal itself."

"That's the way I feel to," Mickey nodded. "The universe has somehow been altered. I wondered how that happened."

"There's some unknown insidious force out there that pulling invisible strings. Let's hope that we can find out what this entity's plans are so we can stop it."

"What do you plan to do Matthew?" Mickey inquired. "Do you plan to stop your son Zackary? Are you going to meet up with Trevor?"

The old keyblader folded his arms, closed his eyes, and let his head drop a bit. "As much as I like to see Zackary so I can slap him across the face and give him a piece of my mind, I'm not going to do it. That is a journey that Trevor must take; that battle is between brothers, not father and son. My wife and I must see who's truly behind all of this chaos before we can be reunited with our sons."

"I can tell you who is behind all of this," Mickey said solemnly. "It's Xehanort."

Matthew let out a gasp, shocked beyond belief. "You mean that Master Xehano-"

"That's right; you weren't there when Xehanort struck down Terra, Ven, Master Eraqus, and Master Aqua."

Matthew looked away out of complete shock. "One night when I was training the boys, I saw Master Eraqus' star go out. But never in my wildest dreams would I imagine that Xehanort could do such a thing. He was a strange man, always obsessed with the legends of the Keyblade War and what lies beyond the total oblivion of an apocalypse, but I just account that to his eccentricities. Don't tell me he truly does plans to create another Keyblade War?"

"He does."

"That's absurd! The last one destroyed the original World and it's a miracle that our ancestors managed the build smaller, disconnected versions of the World! If he starts another War who knows what will happen!" Matthew paced around for a bit, he voice was getting louder. "I thought he was joking about that! That it was all just a sick twisted joke! What does he get out of this?"

"From what I can find out, it's just to satisfy his curiosity."

"Damn his curiosity! He should know better!" Matthew took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I will find Xehanort and when I do I will alert you and the other keybladers."

"We will be waiting," Mickey nodded and shook Matthew's hand as a sign of agreement. Mickey summoned his keyblade and opened up a portal after Matthew did the same. Both entered said a final farewell before entering their respective portal.

**KH-KH-KH**

Mortimer and Zeke watched as the two keybladers entered the portals.

"Now's our chance!" Mortimer grinned at Zeke.

"Our chance to do what?" the wolf asked in confusion.

"To enter the portal that Mickey went through so we can go home, you idiot," the mouse sneered.

"Oh…let's do it then!"

The two outcasts raced to the portal, running like their lives depended on it. They drove for the portal, but the corridor closed before they could even touch it and the only thing that the two gained was a mouth full of sand.

"Well, that was a whole lot of effort for a whole lot of nothing!" Mortimer scoffed as he spit sand out of his mouth.

Zeke was about to said something, when a keyblade was plunged into the white sand only mere centimeters in front of his face. The two outcasts looked up and saw Robert and Nerela standing over them.

Robert leaned on his keyblade as he stared down at the wolf and the mouse, while Nerela flashed her famous wicked smile. "Do you gentlemen need any help?" Robert said in a cold and calculating voice. "Maybe a way to get back home?"

**KH-KH-KH**

In the cold, dark forest of _Halloween Town_, Braig led a shinny teenager through them. Braig cursed to himself for being to one chosen to watch this kid, but knew that it couldn't be help.

"Kiddo, pick up the pace!" Braig yelled behind him. "We're burning valuable daylight. …Not that the sun ever comes up in this place."

"My name is not kiddo," the teenager tried to said it like a threat, but it came out like a pathetic whine. "It's Derrick." The teenage boy had long dark hair that covered his eyes and was dressed completely in black. He wore black shinny jeans and a black t-shirt with the words 'Morality is Overrated' printed in front. He also wore a half zipped up black jacket that hung on him as if his body was a coatrack. The teenager was so skinny and slight that you will swear that he hadn't had a proper meal in days. He was seventeen years old, but you would think he was younger since he's barely five foot nine. His posture is always in a permanent slouch, which cause him to look like he was searching for something he lost on the ground as he walked. Derrick's skin was thin and pale and seemed to be stretched all over his body like the membrane of a drum. If it wasn't for the long hair covering his face, you would've seen an enduring scowl painted across it and world-weary eyes that looked as if they haven't seen the light of day in ages.

Braig hated the kid, but Derrick was Master Xehanort's protégé, so he has to endure the company of this teenager for the time being. "Whatever you say, Rickster. We're almost there."

"Don't call me Rickster!" Again, Derrick tried to make it sound like a threat, but his voice turned it into a shrill whine. "I hate that nickname! I hate all nicknames! How would you like it if I called you Mr. Eyepatch?"

Braig counted to ten, trying hard not to slap the teenager. _'It's hard to believe that kid's a powerful dark keyblader,'_ he thought. _'From his looks, he looks like an awkward skinny girl with hormonal issues.'_

"I don't want you to train me!" Derrick continued to complain. "Master Xehanort is supposed to train me! I don't want some hack who doesn't know what he's doing to teach me!"

The eye patch man had enough. Braig summoned his keyblade and pressed the tip of the blade against the teen's neck to shut him up. "I may have been a keyblader for a lot less time than you, but I know a thing or two about battles Rickster," he said in an annoyed voice. "Unfortunately for all of us, Master Xehanort is feeling a little under the weather. So until he recovers, we're stuck with each other, you dig?"

"How dare you threaten me with your pathetic keyblade!" the teen screeched. "Do you know who I am? I am Derrick Blackthorn, last of the royal Blackthorn line! I'm the keeper of one the three ultimate spells; Flare! Threaten me again and I will use it on you!"

Braig moaned loudly. "Rickster, I seen you cast the spell before and frankly, you're not good at it. Besides, I have a clever defense against it; it's called teleporting! There's nothing you can do to harm me! Now you better get your rear in gear or I'll drag you to the training spot myself!"

Derrick quietly grumbled, but obeyed. He stuck his hands in his jacket pocket and dragged his feet as he followed Braig.

They arrived in a clearing where the trees surrounding it had a different holiday symbol on it. Both of them strolled up to the tree with a Christmas tree shaped door on it.

"Master Xehanort told me to train you in an environment filled with light," Braig began.

"And you brought me here?" the teen interrupted. "Typical. This world is covered by darkness. _Halloween Town_ barely has any light in it."

"But _Christmas Town_ has tons to spare!" Braig opened the Christmas tree door and a beam of light came pouring through it illuminating the forest. Derrick covered his eyes and staggered back as if he was in pain. Braig rolled his eyes and grabbed the teenager by the scuff of his neck. "Don't be such a drama queen Rickster. A little light won't hurt you. Besides, haven't you heard the expression 'the brighter the light, the darker the shadow?' Training in that kind of environment will make your dark powers stronger. Don't you want to be stronger?"

Derrick hissed like a snake for his response. "I don't like the light."

"Just be thankful that I'm not making you train in _Easter Town_. That town is practically baptized in light."

The teenager shook his head defiantly stating that he won't go.

"Fine then," Braig smiled. "I always liked doing things the hard way." He grabbed Derrick's hair and dragged him into _Christmas Town_ kicking and screaming.

**KH-KH-KH**

Rude and Reno was escorting their latest prisoner, Flicker, to an empty holding cell when they ran into their boss Rufus Shinra. Rufus now had a motorized wheelchair that looked more like an office chair than anything. He still covered himself with a white cloth so no one can see the injuries he had to endure a long time ago.

"Hey boss," Reno whistled. "How are you today? You're working that wheelchair."

"Is that the prisoner that Trevor has sent us?" Rufus inquired.

"Why, yes," Reno nodded. "We're just sending him to his comfy cell. You hear that dragon, you're going to be in a nice cozy lair," the redhead mocked the dragon.

"See to it that you do, I want to question him later," Rufus ordered as he traveled down the cellblock. He arrived to one dark cell in particular and gazed into it. A young man with gray hair sat quietly in the cell, refusing to acknowledge the existence of his visitor. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Rufus began. "Ienzo?…"

Ienzo was wearing a loose fitting long sleeve gray shirt and navy blue jeans. His face was impassive and his body was oddly still. "…I keep telling you that I'm not affiliated with Xehanort anymore. Once was enough."

"What does Xehanort wants?" Rufus questioned. "How many members of Organization XIII have returned?"

"Like I told you before, me, Braig, Nerela, and Xehanort were the only ones who were able to return from our Nobody states. The others cannot return because their Nobodies were destroyed before their Heartless."

"Why did you refuse Xehanort's offer?"

Ienzo sighed heavily and looked away. "I have no interest in following that man again; whether he's a Nobody or a Whole."

"Then tell me who Xehanort is recruiting and what's his plan is."

Ienzo looked Rufus square in the eyes for the first time and chills ran down Rufus' spine. With a low even voice, the young man said, "Anyone; he recruiting anyone he can whether they know or not. As for his plan…," He paused for a moment; Rufus thought it was for dramatic effect. "He wants to start a war unlike any other. A war that will engulf the whole entire universe."

**Next Chapter: Stray Dog Days of Summer**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Derrick Blackthorn (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Braig: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep _(Although, technically he first appeared as Xigbar in "Kingdom Hearts II")_

Ienzo: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep _(Although, technically he first appeared as Zexion in "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories")_


	26. Stray Dog Days of Summer

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 25: Stray Dog Days of Summer**

The gummiship _Inspiration_ sped along quietly through inter-space while its inhabitants argue about who is going to drive the ship.

"I wanna drive the gummiship!" Whiskers whined. Kyle and Ed sat at the controls defiantly, not letting the white rabbit near them.

"You can't drive the ship Whiskers," Kyle explained. "Every time you take control of it, we crash into something."

"It wasn't that many times," the rabbit tried to defend himself.

"Dude, we crashed into thirty-two meteors since our journey began, thanks to you."

"We're arriving at a new world," Ed said changing the subject before it got out of hand.

The computer screen in front of them shown a world covered with rolling hills. Built on those hills was a bustling city full of tall buildings, resident houses, apartments, and restaurants. The city was also near an ocean and had a large red bridge going across it. The top left of the screen displayed the name of the world, _The City by the Bay_.

"Looks like an interesting world," Kyle said scratching the bottom of his chin. "It's gotta be better than the last world we visited."

"But I thought the _Banana Cabana_ was cool," argued Whiskers.

"New rule: no more talking about the _Banana Cabana_." The keyblader shivered a bit, "So many health code violations."

"Is the real reason you don't want to talk about that world is because everyone found out you wear lime-colored briefs?" Ed asked seeing right through the keyblader.

"I said no talking about it!" Kyle snapped as he blushed hard.

**KH-KH-KH**

The rolling fog was starting to lift on _The City by the Bay_ when the trio teleported on it. They were on top of a hill in a park over looking the entire city. The three watched as the dissipating fog slowly revealed the city as if a gray blanket was being lifted.

"Do you think we will find Brandy here?" Mr. Whiskers asked. "We've searched a couple of worlds already. What if we never find her?"

"We will find Ms. Brandy," Ed reassured him.

"Yeah dude," Kyle agreed. "I mean, we will find her soon enough."

The three strode down the hill and traveled the sidewalks of the city. It was a strange city, filled with strange and eccentric people. Some of the people wandered aimlessly for the sake of wandering while others rushed to get to where they wanted to go, only to discover they did not want to be there in the first place.

As Kyle and his companions wandered into the downtown area, they saw a small swarm of Heartless surrounding a girl and a boy.

"Very interesting…," the girl said to the boy. The girl was wearing a yellow girl scout uniform, glasses, and a brown sash draped over her right shoulder. "If I haven't already earned the cryptozoology badge I would capture one of these creatures for further study. Ah, what the heck, let's capture one anyway. Want do you say Ben?"

"Bessie, don't tell me you want one as a pet?" the boy cowered behind her as a Tornado Step approached him. Ben was younger than Bessie and had on a blue shirt that was a little too small for him causing a part of his belly to hang out.

"Oh please," Bessie scoffed. "While it will be cool to have a pet of unknown origin, I can't enter one in the Honeybee Dog Show, now can I?" One of the Tornado Steps started spinning and launched itself at the kids. Both of them ducked in time and the Heartless turned around to prepare for the next attack. "Feisty little critters, aren't they?" Bessie laughed nervously.

Before the Heartless could attack again, Kyle charged in and destroyed two of them in a single hit. "Mr. Whiskers, now!" he called out.

The white rabbit jumped up and waved his wand around as he cast his spell. "**Time Slip!**" he chanted. The spell worked its magic and the Heartless were inflicted by Stop.

Ed charged at the frozen Heartless, destroying them one by one. Since the Heartless were so weak, he didn't bother to use Spellblade.

"Thanks for the help guys," Bessie saluted at the trio before turning. "C'mon Ben. We still gotta find me a dog to enter the dog show. Let's go to the pier, that's where all the stray dogs like to hang out."

"Hey, Kyle," Whiskers whispered to the keyblader. "Do you think that Brandy could be at the pier?"

"Doesn't hurt to check it out," Kyle nodded. "Hey, wait up you two!" he called out to Bessie and Ben. "We're looking for a dog too. Can we join you?"

"Sure, the more the merrier!" Bessie rejoiced.

The five of them traveled down to the pier and looked in every corner trying to find a dog.

"I don't think Ms. Brandy would be in a place like this," Ed said after looking through a trash can. "Someone of her particular taste won't find this place very appealing."

"Brandy? Who's Brandy?" Bessie inquired as she rummage through another trash can. "Is she's the dog you're looking for?"

"Yes," Kyle nodded. "I don't know her, but Ed and Mr. Whiskers lost her and we're on a journey to find her. But dudette, if you don't mind me asking why are you looking for a dog at the pier? Why not a kennel?"

"Because it's far better to rescue a stray," Bessie stated. "And then I can enter it in the Honeybee Dog Show and win the Animal Appreciation Badge. All of the pure breed dogs are going to compete and I'm going to show them that a stray can beat them any day of the week."

"Maybe Brandy will show up in the dog show," Mr. Whiskers wondered aloud. "Brandy loves things like that."

"Bessie, look! I found a dog!" her younger brother Ben rejoiced. He pointed at a small blue dog chewing on a steak it stole only a few minutes ago.

The dog started to scratch and Bessie walked over to it to help it scratch its back. "Scratch, scratch, scratch," she joked. "Awwww, your right ear is torn; that's so cute. How would you like it if I took you home with me so you can be my pet?"

Bessie pulled out a leash and collar from behind her. The dog started to panic and tried to run away, but the girl scout grabbed ahold of its neck preventing it from running.

"You're a very happy dog," Bessie said paying no attention to the dog's state of alarm. "So much in fact that I'm going to call you Happy. Don't you like that name Happy?"

"He doesn't look very happy," Kyle tried to point out.

"Nonsense," Bessie denounced. "After a few training exercises and obedience lessons he will be ready for the dog show. Just you wait and see."

**KH-KH-KH**

Back at the park, Bessie was trying her hardest to train Happy. "Okay Happy; Stay!" She said it with an air of authority while holding her right hand in front of her.

Happy was not paying her any attention. He quietly pulled on the rope he was tied to trying to figure out a way to escape. Occasionally he would glance over at the girl and give her a look as if he was saying, 'You gotta be kidding me…'

"I don't think he's responding well to the training, Ms. Higgenbottom," Ed sighed as spoke to Bessie. "Maybe a different method is required."

"Nonsense," Bessie waved off the otter's concern. "He's just a slow learner. Happy will learn enough in time for the dog show." She then turned to the dog with a huge smile on her face, "Isn't that right boy?"

Happy just let out a sharp, short exhale and rolled his eyes.

"Well isn't it Messie," a nasally voice ridiculed in a valley girl accent. Everyone turned around and saw a blonde girl around Bessie's age wearing a white and blue version of Bessie's scout uniform. In the girl's arms was a small, exceptionally well-groomed, off-white dog. "Don't tell me that thing there is your dog," the blonde pointed at Happy with disgusted.

"Oh, hi Portia," Bessie greeted her fellow Honeybee Scout while ignoring Portia's insults. "And yes, this is my dog. Happy and I are going to win that dog show and earn that Animal Appreciation Badge."

"Oh please," Portia rolled her eyes. "You and that mutt don't stand a chance against me and Precious." Portia's dog, Precious, looked at Kyle with its beady, lifeless eyes and started making sounds that was like a cross between a yip and a hiss. "See what you and your loser friends done Messie? You caused Precious to get worked up!" The blonde turned on her heels and proceeded to walk away. "Come on, Precious. Let's go before these losers infect us with their mediocrity."

"Okay, bye Portia," Bessie waved not knowing that her "friend" just insulted her.

"That was one weird dog that girl has," Kyle said lost in thought. "I can't shake the feeling that there is something sinister about that dog."

"You are over thinking it," Mr. Whiskers waved off the keyblader's concern. "It's just a dog."

"Okay Happy," Bessie announced. "Now we are going to work on rolling over."

Before Happy could completely ignore what Bessie commanded, a loud buzz filled the air and something whizzed by them and landed near Kyle's feet. Kyle picked up the object and examined it. It was a sharp metal object with four blades protruding from it.

"Dude, what the heck is this thing?" the keyblader asked as he held it up.

Bessie pulled out her Honeybee Handbook and started flipping through the pages. "It says here that that is a shuriken, commonly known as the ninja throwing star," she answered.

"It was aimed at your head, Kyle." Everyone looked up and saw a teenage boy wearing a blue cloak in the tree. The teenager was none other than Sasuke and he was glaring down at the keyblader with extreme focus. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha and you, Kyle Birch, are my target."

With blazing speed, the ninja teen appeared behind Kyle with kunai knife readied in his hand. Kyle barely managed to block Sasuke's lightning fast attack. The keyblader tried to distance himself, but the ninja was too fast for him. Before Sasuke could land his attack, Mr. Whiskers fired a **1,000 Needles** spell on him. Sasuke activated his sharingan and expertly dodged each needle, but he could not get to his target as a result.

While Mr. Whiskers' spell was still going, Ed charged in with his rune sword. "**Spellblade: Thunder!**" the otter yelled and his sword began to crackle with electricity.

Sasuke watched the otter for a moment before taking out a katana and pointed at the otter. With his sharingan blazing in his eyes, he said in a quite, still voice, "_Spellblade: Thunder_," and his katana charged with electricity. The two swords connected and the collision caused the lightning trapped in the blades to split the air. Streaks of electricity were flying everywhere and Kyle, Whiskers, Bessie, Ben, and Happy tried had to dodge each one. In the end, Sasuke managed to overpower Ed and launch him flying backwards.

Ed recovered quickly and shock spread across his face. "How were you able to use Spellblade? Are you a mystic knight as well?"

"Don't be so naïve," the ninja said in a bored tone. "I simply used my sharingan to copy your technique. Although I must admit, it helps that one of my chakra natures is lightning."

"Why are you after me?" Kyle demanded. "Did Trevor send you to destroy me?"

Sasuke let out a huff of air as if he was trying to laugh, but gave up before he stared simply because it was too much effort. "No, his brother sent me. He wants me to steal your heart so he can bring back his world."

"Like I'm going to allow that to happen," Kyle yelled as he steadied his weapon.

"We'll see about-" _**BLAM!**_ Sasuke was sent flying through the air by a surprise attack. He quickly recovered and rapidly scanned the area with his sharingan eyes. He looked up and Bessie Higgenbottom was about to perform a downward drop kick on him. Sasuke dodged out of the way and Bessie missed, causing her kick to hit the ground, which sent dirt, grass, and debris flying in the air. The ninja was amazed at the little girl's skill. Her first attack wasn't noticed by his sharingan. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Sasuke demanded.

"I earned the ninjitsu badge three months ago," Bessie proudly boasted. "And might I add it was very easy to earn."

"You are going to pay for that little girl." Sasuke pulled out what looked like a single blade, but then unfolded it revealing a giant shuriken. Just before he could throw his windmill shuriken, several Heartless appeared disrupting the fight.

Everyone was surprise by this sudden intrusion, including Sasuke who generally do not use the Heartless. The creatures were dogs with obsidian fur and built like a giant rottweiler. The Heartless had huge bat-like wings and the Heartless emblem displayed proudly on their chest. The wings did not allow them to fly, but they can use them to hover and glide.

The Heartless attacked everyone with full force. Kyle tried to fight them off, but the creatures cast Aeroga trapping him in a vortex. Bessie and Ed came to his rescue, destroying every Heartless that came in their way. Mr. Whiskers provided them cover by casting Mighty Guard on the entire party, which cast both Protect and Shell simultaneously.

Sasuke had no trouble dispatching the Heartless. With every move the ninja made, ten Heartless were destroyed. As he was hacking away at the monsters, he was trying to gain ground on Kyle. Before he could reach the keyblader, Kyle jumped up in the air, yelled "**Critical Impact!**" and brought his keyblade crashing down on the ground. The seismic waves that the keyblader produced annihilated the Heartless surrounding him, but Sasuke was caught up in the attack too. The ninja made a giant leap backwards to escape the remainder of the attack.

During the assault, Happy surprising held his own. With the expertise of a martial artist, he dispatched every Heartless that was foolish enough to come near him. As he was fighting off two Heartless, a sole Soldier Heartless carrying a manila envelope came to him non-threateningly. The dog tried to KO it with one punch, but the strange Heartless expertly dodged the attack. The monster offered the envelope just like a postal worker and Happy cautiously accepted it. Never taking his eyes off the Soldier, Happy open the envelope and took out its contents. He glanced down at the content and saw that it was a photo. Shock and fear creep across his face, his eyes bulged when he realized what it was. Happy threw down the photo and cut the rope he was tied to with his teeth.

After performing a perfect German suplex on a Heartless, Bessie noticed Happy trying to flee the battle. "Happy, where are you going boy?" she called out to him. The dog stopped in his tracks, turn his head slightly, but not enough to face his would-be master. Happy spoke to her in a series of barks and whines; strangely, Bessie was able to understand him. "What do you mean you can't let the darkness take you again?" The scout ran to her dog, but Happy held out his paw signaling her to stay back. He spoke to her in grunts and all Bessie could do is scratch her head. "What do you mean you don't want to hurt anyone again?"

Happy did not answer her, but ran away never looking back.

"Happy, come back!" Bessie yelled. She heard a crunching sound and realized that she stepped on something. The scout looked down and saw that she was standing on a photo. She picked it up and saw that the photo was a picture of a torn dog-ear. Bessie turned the photo over and discovered that someone written a note on the back of it. "We have your ear, signed Doggie Stylz Groomers," she read loud out.

Kyle, Ed, and Mr. Whiskers were fighting back-to-back-to-back trying to defend themselves against the Heartless. The monsters were putting up a fight and their numbers never seem to decrease. After they wipe out the Heartless that was surrounding them, Bessie came running up.

"Guys, Happy ran away," she yelled beside herself. "I found this," she handed Kyle the photo. "I think it has to do with Happy's torn right ear. We have to follow him!"

"Fine," Kyle agreed, "but help us clear a path so we can get out of here."

"Wait a minute, where's Ben," Bessie asked looking around for her brother.

"I'm over here!" Ben yelled hiding behind a tree.

"Whiskers, see if you can get us all out of here," the keyblader ordered.

The rabbit raised his wand and gathered his mana together. "Clear our path: **Aeroga**!" The magical winds pulled back the Heartless making an escape route for our heroes.

Sasuke, however, was trapped and still had to fight the Heartless. He watched as Kyle and the others fled the battle leaving him alone to face the monsters. "You can't run away from me!" the ninja yelled at the top of his lungs. "I will find you Kyle, and I will steal your heart when I do!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Our five heroes walked swiftly to the uptown area, looking for Happy and the dog groomers known as Doggie Stylz Groomers. Nobody could understand why the dog would run away, but they all hoped that they would find him soon.

"I can see you weapon?" Ben asked Kyle once they put enough distance between them and the Heartless swarm. "I'll be extra careful with it." Kyle nodded and summoned his keyblade. Ben's eyes widen with excitement and awe as he held out his hands. The keyblade dropped the weapon in the boy's hands, but when the keyblade touched the boy's flesh, it disappeared and reappeared in Kyle's hand.

"That was weird…," Kyle said puzzled.

"The keyblade can only be handled by its wielder," Ed said matter-of-factly. "Only those who have the power to wield keyblades can use another's."

"Awww," Ben said crestfallen. "But I want one. I want to be a cool warrior like you Kyle."

"Being a warrior is not as cool as you might think," Kyle said truthfully. "There are times where I wish that such a burden wasn't passed on to me. It can be fun at times, I do admit that, but mostly I feel like I'm cursed."

They arrived at the said groomers and it was a fancy-looking building that looks like it only caters to the rich. The five of them entered the swanky establishment and looked around for Happy. Several dogs were being groomed and every one of them had their pale yellow eyes fixed on Kyle. The keyblader felt uncomfortable and tried to tell himself that he was just imagining things.

"I'm sure whatever happen to Happy was a grooming accident," Bessie reassured the group. "Painful memories, I'm sure that's all it is." They walked to the front desk where the owner of the dog salon was sitting. The owner was sitting on a chair behind the desk; the chair was turned, refusing to face them. The girl scout was not deterred however. "Hey there! We're here to see a man about an ear."

The owner turned the chair around revealing to be a short old woman wearing a tall red wig. "You…," the woman said in a deep Russian accent as she stared daggers at Bessie. "I was expecting dog. …But you'll work."

Kyle noticed there was something strange about the woman and he tried to put his finger on it. The keyblader finally noticed what he was looking for; the woman wore Happy's missing earpiece as a necklace. Before Kyle could say anything, the old woman took out a dog whistle and blew into it. All of the dogs in the salon transformed into the Devil Dog Heartless that they all fought earlier. The heroes were quickly surrounded and barely had enough time to take out their weapons.

"So it was you who sent the Heartless," Kyle hissed.

"That is correct boy," the old woman flashed an evil grin. "The dog who you all called 'Happy' is not who you think." She leaned back in chair and smirk, staring at her victims like a spider does a fly. "My name is K. G. Bianca. I work for shadow organization; an organization that specializes in training attack dogs to bite and/or maim certain people of interest. This dog you call 'Happy' was our top covert operative known only by his handle Agent Stray. He was a black belt in ninjitsu, judo, and pit bull. He spoke twelve languages including: French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Swahili, and Pomeranian. He was best bite dog I've ever recruited. He could chop down on your leg before you knew teeth were in the room. Then, on his last mission, he disappeared. It seem like simple bite job, but before we knew, he was caught in an explosion and was terminated. All that remained was part of ear. We thought we lost Agent Stray forever… But then we realized that a dog of Agent Stray's training would not have died so easily. Forty-eight dog years of training into the pooper-scooper. I want him back!"

K. G. Bianca jumped on top of her desk looking and behaving like an attack dog herself. "Heartless," she ordered, "all we need is girl. As for rest of them, steal their hearts!"

The Heartless drew nearer and Kyle readied his keyblade. "Dude, wait a minute!" he yelled at Ms. Bianca. "There are major plot holes in your back-story. For example, if you are part of an organization that trains attack dogs why are you using the Heartless?"

"Heartless are much easier to clean after," K. G. Bianca said matter-of-factly. "You don't have to use pooper-scooper if you know what I mean."

"Okay then," Kyle tried to think of something else. "How are you able to control the Heartless?"

"A boy who goes by Light Yagami came to me weeks ago. He wanted me to join him and another person called Naraku to help them control entire universe. It was he who gave me this power; even though I said I'll think about offer."

"And another thing," Bessie added. "I understand that Happy was your best agent and all, but now that you control the Heartless why do you want him back?"

"Yeah," Ben chimed in. "It doesn't make any sense to me."

"I say, I have to agree with the Higgenbottoms," Ed added his two cents. "Now that you have a legion of dog Heartless under your control, bringing back Happy (or Agent Stray as you call him) would seem a tad bit…superfluous."

"FOOLS!" K. G. Bianca yelled at the top of her lungs. "When I bring Agent Stray back, I'll turn him into Heartless! And he shall become ultimate dog Heartless ever created! And he'll be under my control _FOREVER!_" She jumped off her desk and snapped her fingers. "What are you waiting for Heartless, ATTACK THEM!"

The Heartless pounced on them, but Kyle was ready for it. The keyblader crouch down low before the monsters sprang up. When the creatures of darkness were in mid-air, Kyle jumped up and launched his attack. "**Circular Saw Blade!**" He spun his keyblade over his head repeatedly wiping out most of the Heartless that tried to jump them.

"**Spellblade: Blizzard!**" Ed cast as his sword froze over. The otter attacked his foes trying to clear a path for his comrades to escape.

Before the battle could drag on for too long, they heard someone speak in a low voice outside the building. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" A huge fireball burst through the door of the dog salon, incinerating some of the Heartless. Sasuke stepped through the door with the Sword of Kusanagi in his hands.

"Who are you?" K. G. Bianca screamed at the teenager. "How dare you come into my headquarters unannounced!"

"I'm just here to steal the keyblader's heart," the ninja said unenthusiastically. "If you or anyone stands in my way, then I will have to cut you down."

The gears in the old woman's head were turning. "Then we have common enemy! You and I should team up."

"No," Sasuke said flatly and started to walk over to where Kyle was.

Kyle noticed Sasuke coming toward him and he did not want to face the ninja. He raised his keyblade up and sent it crashing to the ground. "**Seismic Event!**" Chucks of earth flew off, hurling themselves at Sasuke. However, the ninja casually dodged them as if nothing happened.

Sasuke stopped a few feet in front of Kyle and stared at him dead in the eye. "The moment of truth has arrived. You cannot hope to escape me, Kyle. I always complete my mission."

"I don't know who you are or where you come from," Kyle began, "or why you want my heart, but this heart is mine and mine's alone. I don't care what you, Trevor, or anyone else says. I have a right to exist!"

"One is not given that right, but earns it," Sasuke said coldly. He pointed his sword at the keyblader. "If you do have the right to exist then prove it, defeat me in battle."

"Fine by me," Kyle readied his keyblade, determined to give everything he's got.

"You don't have to face him alone," Ed stepped in and brandished his sword.

"You can count on me too," Mr. Whisker stood by the keyblader's side.

Bessie and Ben Higgenbottom rushed to the keyblader's side. "You can count on us too," Bessie said.

Sasuke flashed a short smirk in mild amusement. "How naïve you all are. I bet you think that you are stronger because of the connection you have with your friends. However, the truth is that one cannot become truly strong until all of your connections have been severed." The ninja activated his sharingan and raised his sword.

Before the ninja could bring down his sword, something crashed through a nearby window and landed in front of Kyle and all of his friends. Everyone was shocked to see that it was Happy.

"Agent Stray!" K. G. Bianca shrieked. "You have finally returned to accepted you fate."

Happy said nothing; he pulled out three marble-sized balls and threw them on the ground. The balls ruptured and unleashed thick clouds of gray smoke in the air. There was zero visibility for a total of five seconds. When the smoke cleared, Happy, Kyle, Bessie and their friends were gone.

"Darn it!" K. G. Bianca cursed and continued to do so in Russian.

Sasuke just sighed. "Smoke bomb… I can't believe I fell for the oldest trick in the book."

"I won't let Agent Stray slipped through my fingers again!" Ms. Bianca yelled. She blew on her dog whistle and all of the Heartless snapped to attention. "You know what to do!" she ordered. "Find them!" The Heartless nodded and rushed out of the building to hunt their prey.

Sasuke watched from a distance, thoroughly impressed. "Perhaps you have a use for me after all," he said to the old woman.

**KH-KH-KH**

Minutes later, Kyle, Bessie, Happy and the others were running across the Golden Gate Bridge trying to escape the Heartless that were pursuing them. When they were sure that they were no longer being chased they stopped for a moment to catch their breath.

"Ben, I want you to go home," Bessie ordered her brother.

"Aww, but I want to stay here with you and Kyle and fight those monsters," Ben whined. "Besides, the battles will help me prepare for the day when I become your sidekick."

The girl scout shook her head, "It's too dangerous and furthermore I never said that you will be my sidekick. I only stated that I will take you under consideration." Ben gave her a hurtful look and Bessie sighed heavily quickly thinking of a way to protect her younger brother. "I tell you what Ben. I need you to go the Honeybee Dog Show and register me and Happy, since we might be running late because of the Heartless thing. If you do this I will make you official top-candidate-for-sidekick."

Ben's eyes lit up and he started jumping up and down excitedly. "Will do, Bessie," he saluted and then ran off for the park.

When Ben left the group, Bessie turn to Happy and gave him an earful. "Why you never told me that you were a secret agent?" she scolded. Happy just shrugged and muttered something in his canine language. "What do you mean it never came up?"

Before Bessie can finish her argument with her dog, Kyle felt a familiar chill run down his spine. He summoned his keyblade, but it was too late. Giant portals of darkness surrounded them and the Devil Dog Heartless crawled out of them.

"Agent Stray…," K. G. Bianca stepped out of one of the portals with Sasuke by her side. "We have come full circle, no? Now finish your mission."

"And what mission would that be?" Kyle yelled at the old woman.

"Shadow Organization was hired by the nugget lobby to send top bite dog, Agent Stray, to bite top girl scout taffy seller, Bessie, as warning," the woman explained.

"Why me?" Bessie cried. "I have nothing against nugget; it's a perfectly acceptable taffy-alternative!"

"You and your precious taffy crush nugget sales in San Francisco snack market!" Bianca shook her fist at Bessie. "Now Agent Stray, bite taffy girl and her friends! Finish what's started!"

Happy shook his head and refused.

"You will obey us," Sasuke calmly spoke as he stepped forward. He slowly extended and stretched out his left arm with the palm of his hand facing the dog. "Let the deep darkness within you rise up and take control." Happy felt his heart tightened and grasped his chest in pain. The dog panted and wheezed as if he was having a heart attack. "Don't fight it," the ninja said coldly. "Let the floodgates of your heart open wide. Allow the darkness to cut all ties you have with anyone and let it give you the power that you need; the power you crave. Now, complete your mission and then steal the keyblader's heart."

Happy clenched both of his fists, trying to control himself and the darkness within him.

Bessie rushed over to her dog and put her arms around him. "Be strong Haps!" she pleaded. "You can fight this darkness!"

"Don't delude yourself," Sasuke sneered. "That dog has no means of fighting against the darkness. His heart is too weak." With his sharingan, he detected something being thrown at him. The ninja quickly jumped out of the way, dodging the keyblade Kyle had tossed.

Kyle summoned the keyblade back to his hand. "If Happy doesn't have the strength to fight against the darkness, then we will lend him some of our strength!"

"So annoying," Sasuke spoke in a superior tone, "and yet you have such fierce determination. You remind me of someone that I used to know long ago."

The keyblader quickly glance back and saw that the darkness in Happy was dissipating. Mr. Whiskers and Ed stood by his side and smiled, ready to fight. "Bessie," he spoke to the girl scout, "take Happy somewhere and rest. We will fight this battle for you."

"So boy thinks he's chivalrous?" Bianca sneered. "I will deal with you first!"

"No!" Sasuke's face was calm, but his voice betrayed him and the flash of anger he felt. "This is _my_ mission. I will deal with him personally."

"Well bring it on mister!" Whiskers shouted, sticking up for Kyle. "**Dark Spark!**" The white rabbit launch a dark ball of electric energy at Sasuke, but the ninja dodged it.

Sasuke stretched out his right arm and electric energy gathered in his hand. The ninja formed a ball of lightning and charged with it. "Chidori!" He tried to hit the keyblader with the jutsu, but Kyle dodge-rolled out of the way in the nick of time. Needless to say, Sasuke was extremely displeased that he missed the attack. He quickly plotted his next move, but he something saw something with his sharingan. The ninja focused in on Kyle's eyes; their color was turning from green to blue with the pupils twisting into the shape of tiny keyholes.

'_What is this?'_ Sasuke thought. _'Is he about to use a technique?'_

Kyle focused on Sasuke trying to find some weakness; an opening that he can exploit. As he was focusing, the back of his head started to hurt and his eyes felt like they were burning. He was shocked when he saw the world melt away and turned into black leaving only him and Sasuke. Shadows of various people started appearing behind Sasuke, their names appeared in Kyle's mind as he looked at them. One shadow looked like Sasuke, but much older and was wearing a black coat with red clouds on them. Somehow, he knew that the man's name was Itachi. The next shadow was that of a teenage girl with pink hair; Sakura was her name. Finally, he eyes were fixed at the shadow of a teen with blond hair and a determine look on his face. "Naruto…," the keyblader said out loud.

As soon as Kyle said the name, memories that were not his flooded his mind. He tried to make sense of them, but the memories refused to cooperate. With his willpower, the keyblader quickly organized and managed the foreign memories. _'These memories belong to Sasuke and everyone that has ties to him,'_ he deduced. _'Kakashi, Sakura, Orochimaru, and Naruto. Somehow, I can see their memories as well. I can even see how they perform their special attacks. Wait a minute!'_ Kyle came up with an idea. _'I know how to defeat Sasuke!'_

The shadows and the dark void faded away, and the keyblader was once again back in reality. He had no time to lose. Kyle dismissed his keyblade and ordered Ed and Whiskers to come near him.

Sasuke watched with mild amusement wandering what the keyblader was about to do. Kyle held his right hand and started gathering mana. The ninja's eyes widen as his sharingan observed the keyblader and his actions. _'This isn't possible!'_ The ninja's thoughts were a scream that he refused to let out. What he was observing was beyond the realm of possibility; only one person can do what the keyblader was about to do. _'His mana is becoming like chakra! No, worse. It's beginning to take the shape of Naruto's chakra! His eyes…is it some new form of genkai? Has he developed a power like my sharingan?'_

Kyle continued to gather mana in his hand, but it was unstable and unmanageable. "Ed," he ordered, "I want you to shape the energy that I am producing in my hand into the shape of a sphere."

"Okay Mr. Birch," the otter said and began to shape the energy with his hands. In a few moments, the mana was condensed into a medium sized sphere spinning and rotating in the keyblader's hand.

"Whiskers, I need you to add the element of wind in this sphere," Kyle ordered.

"You got it Kyle!" the rabbit saluted then use his magic powers to make the energy sphere take on the attribute of wind.

Sasuke was not going to let the keyblader finish his technique. The ninja charged at the trio with his sword drawn.

Kyle panicked; his technique was not ready. Before Sasuke could get close to him, Bessie and Happy jumped in and performed a double drop kick. Sasuke leapt backwards to avoid the attack.

"You interlopers!" the ninja cursed.

"Finish whatever you are trying to do Kyle," Bessie said to them. "Me and Haps will buy you some time."

"I will not accept this!" K. G. Bianca screamed. "Heartless, attack them all!"

The Heartless charged at them but Bessie fought them off. Happy was busy taking care of Sasuke.

Kyle felt the technique nearing completion. Mr. Whiskers' and Ed's hands were rapidly moving so the ball of energy could maintain its shape. The energy ball glowed a light blue, had four spirals swirling around it, and hummed like an oscillating fan going at top speed. "It's ready!" the keyblader exclaimed. "Whiskers, Ed, get out of the way!" The rabbit and the otter obeyed and jumped off to the side. The keyblader ran toward Sasuke, energy ball in hand. "Move it or lose it Bessie and Happy!" The girl scout and her dog rolled out of the way while Kyle leapt in the air and brought his attack crashing down. "Trinity Limit: **Imitation Rasenshuriken!**"

Sasuke saw Kyle coming at him. He knew if he was hit by that attack, he'll be done for. Thinking quickly, he sidestepped out of way, safe from harm.

Kyle tried to change his course, but he couldn't. Instead of hitting Sasuke, the attack hit K. G. Bianca.

"Waugh!" the old woman screamed as the attack hit her. The energy of the attack was so unstable that the sphere grew more than ten times its size and started sucking everything in it as if it was a black hole. Kyle safely jumped out of the way so he would not be damaged by his own attack. All of the Heartless in the area was caught up in the onslaught and were sucked in.

When the smoke cleared K. G. Bianca and Sasuke was nowhere to be found. The only evidence of their fight was a huge gaping hole in the walkway of the bridge. Happy's missing earpiece that K. G. Bianca used as a necklace, was lying on the ground. Kyle absentmindedly walked over, picked it up, and put it in his pocket.

"You did it Kyle," Mr. Whiskers rejoiced. "We beat Sasuke and ol' what's-her-name."

Kyle was busying staring at his right hand, thinking about everything that has happened. He wondered how he was able to see the memories of people he never met. Even now, their memories are still fresh in his mind. _'Is Trevor and Yuko right?'_ he thought. _'Am I a false being who simply steal other people's memories to justify my existence? Is my only purpose to see others' memories and used them as my own?'_

Ed looked at his friend, his eyes full of worry. "Mr. Birch? …Mr. Birch! Is something the matter?"

The keyblader shook off his thoughts and snapped back into reality. "Nothing's the matter," he lied. "I just think…well, given how strong Sasuke is and how crafty K. G. Bianca is, I believe they somehow survived my attack. We have won the battle, but the war isn't over yet."

Kyle looked over his shoulder and saw Bessie and Happy talking to each other.

"Listen, Haps," Bessie began, "or perhaps you prefer Agent Stray? You don't have to be my dog if you don't want to. I will understand if you don't want to be tied down." Happy looked down for a moment, his eyes full of sorrow and regret. He held his head back up with a smile on his face and started talking with barks and yips. Bessie's eyes lit up, "You mean you want to be my dog and enter the dog show?" Happy nodded. "Oh Haps," the girl scout hugged her dog. "You don't know how happy you made me!"

"Well if we want to make it to the dog show then we better hurry," Kyle said. Everyone nodded in agreement and ran toward the park where the show was located.

**KH-KH-KH**

Sasuke was standing on one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge looking down on Kyle. "The keyblader is more powerful than I thought," he said to himself. "And that power of his… It could mean trouble." The ninja closed his eyes and sighed. It was humiliating for him to lose. How could he ever hope to defeat his brother if he cannot take down one keyblader? "I will find a way to attain more power," he said confidently. "When I do, I will come back for you Kyle." Sasuke brought his hand up and clenched it into a tight fist. "Next time we meet, I will steal your heart for Zackary; I guarantee it."

**KH-KH-KH**

Kyle, Bessie, and the others arrived at Honeybee Dog Show with little time to spare. Ben greeted them at the entrance of the tent.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Ben panicked. "The dog show is almost over and they're about to announce that Portia and Precious are the winners!"

"Oh no, I hope we're not too late!" Bessie yelled as she and Happy ran toward the stage.

A redheaded woman was on the stage with Portia. She was the judge of the competition and Porita's mother, M. F. Gibbons. So much for impartiality. Portia held Precious in her arms as her mother spoke. "This year's Honeybee Dog Show winner and recipient of the Animal Appreciation Badge goes to-"

"WAIT!" Bessie yelled as she and Happy climbed on stage. "Ms. Gibbons, wait! Me and Happy didn't compete yet!"

Ms. Gibbons took one look at Happy and sneered. "You got to be kidding me! That filthy mongrel can't compete!"

"And why not?" Kyle questioned as he and the others strode up on stage.

"Because it is a mutt, that's why!" Ms. Gibbons ridiculed. "Only purebreds, like Precious, can enter this competition."

Kyle decided to challenge her. "If Precious is a purebred, then what breed of dog is she?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? Precious is a….is a…" It was at the moment, Ms. Gibbons realized that she knew nothing about the history of her daughter's dog. In an effort to save face, she decided to prove the legitimacy of the dog in another way. "There is a way to prove that a dog is a purebred; to check to see if their teeth are perfect. Once you see how beautiful and perfect Precious' teeth are you won't doubt what kind of dog she is!"

Ms. Gibbons tried to open Precious' mouth, but the animal was putting up a fight. She finally managed to pry the mouth open, revealing that Precious had twisted, jagged teeth protruding from its poorly kept gums.

"WHAT ON EARTH?" Ms. Gibbons shrieked as she backed away.

"That's not a dog!" someone from the audience yelled. "That's a huge rat!"

"EWWWW!" Portia screamed and dropped the rat before running out of the tent.

The rat shook itself off and faced Kyle. It charged at the keyblader, jumped up, and tried to attack his face. Kyle ducked and avoided the rat's attack. The rat's fur grew darker and the Heartless emblem appeared on its back.

"That thing's a Heartless!" Kyle yelled as he summoned his keyblade. "I knew that there was something not quite right about that 'dog.'"

The rat Heartless grew larger and larger. At first it became the size of a large pig, then a horse, then an elephant. Soon the Heartless became so large that its body could not be contained in the large tent. It ripped a hole on the top of tent and proceeded to tear it down. The Heartless grew large bull-like horns on its head. Its underbelly became scaly like a lizard's and the tip of its tail morphed into a club. Finally, the Heartless stop growing and its height was sixty feet while its length was 240 feet long.

"You know," Kyle spoke as he was staring up at his adversary. "If I saw this on TV, I would've said that was the coolest thing I ever saw. But since I'm seeing this in person, I'm just scared $&*less."

The monster let out a terrifying roar so loud and powerful that it knocked everyone on the ground.

"Ed, do you know what that thing is?" Mr. Whiskers yelled as he pointed up at the Heartless.

"It would appear to be a Behemoth," the otter said dryly as if the matter didn't need to concern them. "A King Behemoth to be precise. The legendary beast was first mentioned, along with the Leviathan, in the Book of Job."

"Well, this monster is about to become extinct after we're though with him," Kyle said as he readied his keyblade.

"How are we going to do that?" Whiskers inquired.

"I… don't know…," Kyle admitted.

The Heartless became bored with the warriors and started terrorizing the other people in the park.

"We have to find a way to defeat that thing before it cause too much damage," the keyblader lamented.

"I think I know a way to defeat it!" Bessie said as she pulled out of the Honeybee Handbook. "When the monster was growing, I noticed that a red jewel was growing on its head. And according to the Honeybee Handbook, under the section regarding cliché JRPGs, any jewel and/or gem-like objects protruding from a monster's body is the said monster's weak point. All we have to do is climb the beast and destroy the jewel."

"Great plan!" Mr. Whiskers congratulated. "But how can we climb the beast? It's not as if we can fly or anything."

"Maybe we can fly!" Kyle said as he came up with an idea. He grabbed Whiskers' hand and gathered up his mana. "**Air Pirate Drive Form!**" The keyblader and the rabbit fused together in a flash light. Kyle stepped forth from the light in his Drive Form.

"Where did you learn to do a thing like that, Mr. Birch?" Ed asked in awe.

"In a _very_ weird dream," Kyle admitted, but he didn't want to talk about it.

"Take me with you!" Bessie pleaded. "I'm not that heavy."

"No, it's too dangerous," Kyle said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"But this is a perfect chance for me to earn my Monster Slaying Badge!"

"Why are you so obsessed with earning badges," Kyle questioned.

"So I can become a superhero," Bessie explained. "According to the Handbook, first Honeybee scout to earn every single badge will become the all powerful superhero known as the Mighty B!"

The keyblader's eyebrow arched. "Your handbook really says that?"

"Well, not in those exact words, but it does implies it."

Kyle just shook his head. "I'm not going to convince you to stay put, am I?"

"No," Bessie smiled. "You will find that I'm very persistent."

"Fine," the keyblader said giving in. "You can come." He pointed at the girl scout with his keyblade and cast a spell. "**Float!**"

Bessie began floating above the air, much to her delight. "Wow! Look at me, I'm flying!"

"We need to get our head in the game Bessie," Kyle said getting her attention.

"Right!" Bessie agreed. "Let's kick some Behemoth butt!" The two of them then flew off and went after the King Behemoth Heartless.

The Heartless rampaged throughout the park, leaving behind a path of destruction. Kyle and Bessie landed on the beast's giant back and ran towards the head. The behemoth sensed something crawling on its back and started rolling around to get the pests off.

The keyblader grabbed Bessie and flew off before the monster could crush them.

"We have to get to the head somehow," Bessie yelled.

"Perhaps the direct approach is best for this situation," Kyle said. He charged the beast in the air, pointing his keyblade at it. Kyle fired a round of cannon fire at the monster's face, causing the King Behemoth to back up and shriek with pain. The keyblader turned to Bessie, "You want to defeat the monster so you can earn your badge, here's your chance." He realized he was speaking in both his voice and Mr. Whiskers' voice. "Crap! This Drive Form must be wearing off. You must end this NOW!"

"I'm already on it!" Because Bessie did not have a weapon on her own, she absentmindedly grabbed Kyle's keyblade. Kyle felt a portion of his power leaving him, but he didn't say anything. Bessie took the keyblade and landed on the King Behemoth's head. The Heartless was still stunned from Kyle's last attack, leaving it in the open. Bessie plunged the keyblade into the jewel on its head and the gem began to crack. She hit it two more times and the jewel finally shattered, releasing a giant crystal heart. The body of the King Behemoth Heartless began to fade away to nothingness, while its heart floated patiently in the sky.

The Float spell used on Bessie had worn off and she plummeted from the sky. Kyle caught her and gently floated down on the ground.

"That was some ride," Bessie laughed it off. "Here's your keyblade back."

Kyle thanked her and took his keyblade. At that very second, his Drive Form was used up and Whiskers separated from him.

"Whew! What a rush!" the rabbit exclaimed.

The released heart of the King Behemoth Heartless floated down to the warriors. _"I am Behemoth, the antediluvian beast of old. I thank you all from releasing me from the accursed darkness."_

"Sure, no problem," Kyle said a little frighten, not knowing why the heart won't float away like the other hearts he released from the Heartless.

"_Accept my gift, Bearer of the Key. I shall lend you my power. May you find a use for it in your future endeavors."_ The giant crystal heart burst into tiny lights and went inside Kyle. The keyblader felt stronger for some reason, as if the core of his being was glowing brighter.

"Bessie Higgenbottom!" said a frighten and confused voice. Everyone turned around and saw Ms. Gibbons looking frazzled and out of place. "I don't know what just happen, but since your mutt was the only dog in the dog show, I am obligated to present you with the Animal Appreciation Badge." The troop leader pulled out a badge and handed it to the girl.

Bessie's eyes lit up, she took the badge with great happiness and pride. "I finally got my Animal Appreciation Badge! Now how about my Monster Slaying Badge?"

"Your what?" Ms. Gibbons said unenthusiastically, energy leaving her body.

"She helped me slay that giant Heartless," Kyle said. "I couldn't have done it without her."

"Sure, why not?" Ms. Gibbons pulled out another badge and landed to the girl scout. "Just never speak of this day again. I'm going to bed." And so, Ms. Gibbons left to find her daughter so she can go back home.

"I earn two badges in one day! Only four thousand, five hundred, eighty-three badges to go!" Bessie rejoiced. "Awesome!"

Bessie's two new badges started glowing and fused together to reveal the keyhole of the world.

"Another one of these keyholes," Kyle stated as he pointed his keyblade at the mystical keyhole. He locked the world and the keyhole turned back into the two badges.

"These badges have mystical powers?" Bessie said excitedly. "Now I know if I earn every badge I will become a superhero!"

Kyle reached his pocket, pulled out Happy's missing earpiece, and presented it to the dog. "Here Happy, take it. I'm sure the vet can reattach it somehow." Happy pushed Kyle's hand away and barked something to him. "You don't want it?" the keyblader said shocked. "Dude, we went through a lot of trouble trying to get this back."

"You guys are awesome!" Bessie said to Kyle, Whiskers, and Ed. "How long you guys are planning to stay in the city? Maybe you guys can help me earn some more badges tomorrow!"

Kyle smiled, but shook his head. "I'm sorry Bessie, but we have to leave."

"That's too bad," the girl scout said a bit crestfallen. "But the next time you guys are in the city, feel free to look us up."

"We will do that," the keyblader promised.

"I'm holding you to it," Bessie said. "Come on Haps; let's see where Ben has run off to." Happy barked joyfully and followed his new master.

"Aww," Mr. Whiskers lamented. "All of that work and still we didn't find Brandy."

"All in due time, Whiskers," Kyle said.

"Mr. Birch is right," Ed added. "We cannot lose hope! We will search the next world, then the next, and the one after that!"

"Yeah!" the rabbit said excitedly, feeling a lot better. "What's the next world, Ed?"

"I don't know, but before we teleported to this world, I saw a world near here that has a _huge_ mansion on it. Maybe we should check it out."

"Brandy loves mansions!" Mr. Whiskers said getting even more excited. "She has to be there for sure!"

Kyle smiled brightly listening to the two animals talk like eager children. At that moment, he did not care if his existence was an accident or not. He was just happy that he is alive with people in his life that care for him and that he has the ability to care for them too. _'My friends, family, and love ones justify my existence,'_ he reasoned. _'Perhaps, that's all that matters.'_

**Next Chapter: Imagine That!**

**Ed's Memoirs Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Bessie (middle name has been erased to protect the innocent) Higgenbottom: The Mighty B!(2008)

Ben Higgenbottom: The Mighty B!(2008)

Happy Walter Higgenbottom aka Agent Stray: The Mighty B!(2008)

K. G. Bianca: The Mighty B!(2008)

Portia Gibbons: The Mighty B!(2008)

M. F. Gibbons: The Mighty B!(2008)

**A/N: Ah yes, The Mighty B! I admit, the cartoon is my guilty pleasure, but that's only because Happy is so awesome! This chapter combined two episodes "So Happy Together" and "The Bone Identity" with a small reference to "To Bee or not to Bee" and "Name Shame." Don't forget to review.**


	27. Imagine That!

**Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long to update. It was one school project and midterm after the other all semester for me, so I haven't had the chance to write or read fanfiction that much. Anyway, on with the show.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 26: Imagine That!**

Inside the Heart of Gold, Bonkers was wandering through corridors that he never traveled down before. He came across a closed door with a sign "DO NOT OPEN UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!" written across it. Despite the warning, the curious bobcat crack opened the door and peeked inside. At first he couldn't see any but darkness, so he opened the door wider. A near-empty closet was revealed to the bobcat with the only thing in it was a small, white android with a large round head.

The android turned itself on and stared at the cartoon bobcat with sad, pathetic, electronic eyes. "Oh great," it sighed. "The Heart of Gold has new owners."

Bonkers' eyes lit up in excitement. "Cool, we have a robot!" he cheered. "What can you do?"

"Don't act as if you are glad to see me," the android moaned. "No one's happy to see me…"

"Well, I am," Bonkers said trying to be friendly. "What's your name?"

"Stop with the act, you don't really want to know my name." The android gave a long electronic sigh and rolled its head to the side as if it was in great pain. "I will have you know I'm feeling very depressed."

"Well then, maybe we can be friends," the bobcat forced a smile and was surprised that the android's mood was sucking his jovial attitude away.

"Please," the android hissed as his gears unnecessary grinded against each other. "Why would anyone will be friends with me? It's always, 'Do this Marvin,' or 'Marvin, calculate this for me!' Nobody cares about a defect like me."

"All the more reason to get out there and take life by the horns!" the bobcat tried to encourage the android with fading hope.

Marvin flashed Bonkers an electronic look. "Life? Don't talk to me about life."

Bonkers had enough of the android's sour mood and slammed the door. "I can see why people wanted to keep this door close," he said as he locked it.

Bonkers arrived on the bridge and found Trevor and Miranda at the computer console trying to figure something out.

"What do you mean you don't have any information about this world?" Miranda asked the computer program Eddie.

"Sorry gang, but this world is not registered in my data banks," Eddie chimed.

The world was displayed on the computer screen. An enormous mansion covered the world towering over the sky. Next to the mansion was a very large, almost dead, tree. Trevor looked at the image in both fascination and curiosity. "Why would anyone need such a large mansion?" he wondered out loud.

"A status symbol maybe?" Miranda said throwing in her two cents.

The keyblader shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway; we still have to investigate it."

**KH-KH-KH**

The trio teleported on the world and found themselves in the mansion's giant foyer. Perhaps giant was an understatement; the foyer looked like it could fit five very large living rooms. When they looked up, they were surprised that they couldn't find the ceiling, just countless stairs leading up to countless of floors.

"Awesome possum!" Bonkers exclaimed. "This place is huger than huge!"

"Someone has a lot of disposable income," Miranda commented.

Trevor looked around the place as if he was trying to remember something.

"What is it Trevor?" Miranda asked the keyblader.

"This place feels familiar," Trevor stated, "Even though I have never been here."

The blonde cop started to wonder. "You mean like in _Cape Suzette_?"

"No, not at all. Cape Suzette was like experiencing some forgotten nostalgia, but this place… It's like déjà vu. I could almost swear we just left this world."

"How can we when we never been to this world before?" Bonkers asked.

"I don't know…," the keyblader scratched his head in confusion.

A door to the far left of the foyer opened and a young redheaded woman walked out. The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, wore a Powerpuff Girls t-shirt, a green sweater, and a skirt. Her hair was causally tied to a ponytail giving her a somewhat tomboyish look. She was carrying a mop and a pail full of water with a scowl spread across her face.

"Stupid Herriman!" the redhead cursed under her breath. "Telling me to clean the whole house as if I didn't know that was my job. I practically keep things shipshape around here. Is it too much to ask for a 'thank you' every now and then?"

"Um, excuse me," Miranda called out.

The redhead took notice of the trio for the first time. "Oh…," she said blushing a bit, embarrassed that the three may have heard she grievances, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, we have costumers!" She quickly set aside the mop and the pail so she can properly greet the visitors. "Welcome to _Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends_! A place where good ideas are never forgotten! My name is Frankie Foster, how can I help you today?"

"Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends?" Trevor repeated not sure what it means.

"A place where kids offer up their imaginary friend for adoption and where kids with no imaginary friends can adopt one," Frankie explained. She bent down to Bonkers' eye level. "So what's your name little guy and where's the kid that created you?"

Bonkers and his friends were thoroughly confused. They didn't know that Frankie thought that the cartoon bobcat was an imaginary friend. "A kid didn't create me," Bonkers explained.

"Oh,…" Frankie said as she reached a conclusion. "So you must be the creator," she said to Trevor.

"What?" the keyblader couldn't make sense of the conversation.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. Sometimes it's hard for a person to let go of an imaginary friend; some they keep them throughout their teenage-hood. I met people who kept their imaginary friends into adulthood! So you are not the first and you surely won't be the last."

"But I didn't created Bonkers," Trevor simply stated. "He's my friend, but I have never met his creator and he isn't imaginary."

Frankie took a step back and cautiously eyed the trio. She was beginning to have the feeling that something was out of whack. The redhead was determined to get to the bottom of this. "Okay, so who is the creator and where is he or she?" she demanded.

"He's a cartoonist, but he's not with us. Come to think of it," Miranda rubbed her chin. "I have never met the person who originally drew you Bonkers."

"Oh, he's a very funny guy," Bonkers spoke highly of his creator. "A little out there, but-"

"Okay, that does it!" Frankie interrupted. "Why are you guys here? Are you here to put the bobcat up for adoption or what?"

"No, we are looking for someone," Trevor asked.

The redhead caretaker closed her eyes and sighed. "And who are you looking for?"

"Kyle," said a young child's voice. Everyone looked up at the staircase and saw a young boy descending the stairs with a menagerie of imaginary friends. The boy himself was around eight years old, had brown hair, and wore a red short-sleeve shirt over a white long sleeve shirt.

A blue blob, in the shape of a domed cylinder, followed closely behind the boy. The blob had a look of mischief spread across its face as if he was always planning some prank.

A very tall, red imaginary friend ran along side the blue blob. He had two eyestalks, though the left one is crooked. The imaginary friend had a stubby left arm, oversized basketball shoes, and the number one on his chest making his body look like a sport jersey.

Following the tall imaginary friend was a large, purple monster-looking creature. In spite of the creature's frightening appearance, he looked like he was afraid of something as if he seen a ghost.

Bringing up the rear was the strangest imaginary friend of all. It looked like a hybrid of a bird, palm tree, and an airplane. It wandered down the stairs absentmindedly as if there was nothing else to do.

"The Heartless have return Kyle," the boy said.

"What? The Heartless are here?" Trevor yelled as he and his companions raced up the middle of the stairs to greet the strange group.

As the two groups came closer, the boy stopped in his tracks. "Wait a minute, you're not Kyle," he said.

"Of course he is," the blue blob rolled his eyes. "It's obvious that he dyed his hair and changed his clothes."

"No, it's not Kyle," the boy insisted. "They look alike, a whole alike actually, but that man is not Kyle. I can tell."

"He's right," Trevor said. "I'm not Kyle, the name's Trevor."

"I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business," the tall, red imaginary friend began. "But why you and Kyle look alike? Are you twins or something?"

"Something like that," Trevor scratched the back of his head. "Can you tell us where Kyle is? It's important that we find him."

"Uh, Senior Herriman kicked him and his friends out, sí," the purple monster imaginary friend spoke up. "They were helping us get rid of those," he gulped dramatically, "monsters."

"Alright, what's goin' on here?" Frankie demanded as she marched up the stairs to hear what the group was talking about. "Wilt," she asked the tall imaginary, "do you know these people?" she pointed to Trevor and the others.

"I'm sorry Frankie, but I don't," Wilt answered in an apologetic tone. "But maybe they can help us with our Heartless problem, just like Kyle tried to do."

"Hold on, slow down," the redhead said trying to organize all of the information she was receiving. "Heartless?"

"They are monsters that have suddenly appeared. They are muy muy malo," the monster said. "They are appearing everywhere and now some of the friends are missing!"

"Ed," Frankie sighed. "Like I told you before, there are no such things as monsters."

"I'm sorry Frankie, but we saw them," Wilt said. "They look like us imaginary friend, but they are much more sinister."

"There must be a logical explanation for all this," Frankie thought aloud. "It better not be Goo and her overactive imagination." The caretaker sighed and rubbed her temples, "That's probably what it is."

"No, the Heartless are real," Trevor said. "Me and my friends have been fighting them for quite some time. We can help you get rid of them."

"So what you're saying is that you three are some sort of exterminators?" Frankie said raising an eyebrow.

"What's going on here?" said a pompous voice in an upper-class British accent. Everyone looked down the stairs to see a large grey rabbit wearing a black tailcoat, white gloves, a top hat, and a monocle over his left eye while his right eye remains closed. The rabbit hopped up the stairs in a huff up matter. "Miss Frances, what is the meaning of this? Slacking off in the middle of your chores I see."

"I wasn't slacking off!" Frankie yelled at the rabbit. "These three came in and-"

"You!" the rabbit pointed at Trevor. "I thought I told you to leave the premises at once!"

"You must be thinking of someone else, because I never seen you before," Trevor stated.

The rabbit leaned in for a closer look. "You're right; you are not that hoodlum that tried to sneak in here. Nevertheless, I have to ask you and your friends to leave."

"And why is that?" Trevor demanded to know.

"Yeah Mr. Herriman. The three of them are weird, but so far they didn't do anything," Frankie defended the group.

"Because this young man and his friends have broken one of the rules," Mr. Herriman stated matter-of-factly.

"They didn't break one of the house rules," Frankie said with her hands akimbo.

"Not the house's rules," the rabbit explained. "The rules of the world order."

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers gasped; they didn't expect the imaginary rabbit to know about the world order. "How…how do you know about the world order?" Trevor asked.

"How I came to acquire such knowledge is none of your concern. However, it is easily to spot someone who doesn't 'belong' to this…let us say place. It's even easier to spot someone who wields _that_ accursed weapon." Mr. Herriman made it sound like the term 'keyblade' shouldn't be used in polite company.

Unfortunately, Trevor didn't notice this. "You know about the keyblade too?"

"Hush!" Mr. Herriman warned the keyblader. "The others cannot know about that weapon!"

"You mean the sword that's shape like a key?" Bloo asked. "Kyle had a weapon like that and man was it cool! I wish I had one of those."

Mr. Herriman's face contorted into an expression that was a cross between shock and dismay. "See! The world order is already falling apart! Keybladers these days! They don't know that sticking their noses where they don't belong will do the universe more harm than good! I had to kick two keybladers out of the house today; now I have to do it a third time."

"Wait, I'm the _third_ keyblader you met today?" Trevor said in disbelief.

"Quite," the rabbit responded. "The first one was a man named Zackary. He claimed that he was looking for someone, but I saw straight through him; I know a rule breaker when I see one. I tossed him out without delay. Then a young man, who looks a lot like you, came in; Kyle I believe it was. I threw him and his friends out without bothering to hear their story."

Trevor was troubled. On the one hand, he was on the right trial in finding Kyle, but the bad news is so was his brother. He needed to find Kyle and fast so he can warn him about Zackary's plans. This also explained why this world seemed so familiar to him; Kyle's memories of this world must have entered his subconscious somehow.

"Then _you_ show up!" Mr. Herriman continued. "This house is not a convention center, but a foster home. I may not be a keyblader, but I will protect the world order and you, sir, are disrupting it."

"And how are you going to defend yourself against the Heartless?" the keyblader retorted. "Those monsters won't stop until this place is destroyed."

"Monsters indeed!" Herriman scolded. "There are no such thing as monsters. It's probably just Goo creating countless of imaginary friends again."

"That's what I said," Frankie uttered.

"You three don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!" the rabbit said to the traveling trio as he turned to leave.

Trevor sighed. "I wish I can go home, but the deal I made with Yuko prevents me from doing that," he said under his breath.

Mr. Herriman heard the keyblader and turned around; his right eye was wide open in fear. "Yuko?" he said in a crossed between a scream and a gasp. "Yuko? Yuko! YUKO?" The rabbit quickly spun around several times, patting himself as if he was trying to ward off some unknown evil. Everyone was shocked to see Mr. Herriman behave in such a matter; they never witness him act this way before.

"I take it you had a run in with Yuko?" Trevor asked. As soon as the keyblader said the witch's name, Mr. Herriman back up a couple of steps. The keyblader decided to try something. "Yuko," he repeated and Herriman backed up some more. Frankie and Trevor smiled at each other with their arms crossed. They stared at the rabbit and together they said, "Yuko" one last time. Mr. Herriman backed up all the way down to the bottom of the staircase.

"DON'T EVER SAY THAT WITCH'S NAME IN MY PRESENCE EVER AGAIN!" the rabbit warned. "Me and my creator met her thirty years ago; one meeting was enough!"

"She must have been some kid back then," Trevor shook his head.

"She wasn't a kid, she was a woman!" Herriman said.

Trevor looked at the rabbit in disbelief. "That's impossible!" he said. "She is in her thirties. By what you said, you're suggesting that she is in her sixties!"

"Foolish boy! Time has stopped for that accursed witch; I doubt she'll ever age!" The rabbit then turned to a bust of an old woman and sighed. "Oh Madam Foster, if only you were here; you will tell those hooligans a thing or two!"

"Look I'm not really sure what's going on," the boy interrupted. "Or what you two are arguing about, but that doesn't change the fact that monsters are attacking this house!"

The rabbit finally took notice of the young lad and adjusted his monocle. "Ah yes; the lad who wants to give up his imaginary friend for adoption."

"I don't want to give him up," the boy said. "My mom said that Bloo can't live with us."

"Yeah, I don't want to get adopted," Bloo said. "I mean, me and Mac are inseparable; we're a team. I just need a place to crash for a few days until his mother changes her mind. In the meantime, Mac will come and visit me."

"I'm afraid that's impossible," Mr. Herriman stated. "This is not a bordering house, but a foster house. If master Blooregard is to stay here he will be put up for adoption."

"But what if I promise to see him everyday," Mac pleaded.

"I am sorry young lad, but rules are rules," the rabbit said as he began to hop to his office. "It will be a matter of time before you, Master Mac, will tire of your beloved Bloo. Thus, your visits will cease and Master Blooregard will be placed in the custody of a new child, who will eventually tire of him as well. It's a fact of life that every child tires of their imaginary friend eventually."

"Yours didn't," Frankie called out.

Mr. Herriman stopped for a moment as if he thought about what the caretaker had said. After a beat, the rabbit shook off whatever he was thinking and continued into his office.

"Sorry guys, Mr. Herriman can be a real pain," Frankie apologized. "I tell you what, if you guys can get to the bottom of this alleged 'monster' problem," she used air quotations, "then I will try to convince Mr. Herriman to let Bloo stay here without being put up for adoption. Does that sound good?"

"Thanks Frankie," Mac said gratefully.

"No prob," the caretaker waved.

"I guess we have to leave," Bonkers said sadly, "since we got kicked out."

"Are you kidding? I want you guys to stay," Frankie said.

"But why?" the keyblader asked.

"For two reasons. One, I want you three to help Mac and the others with this so-called monster problem. You guys said you were experts, right? I would look into it myself if I didn't have so many chores to do. Second, you guys gave me the greatest gift of all; a way to freak out Mr. Herriman." The redhead rubbed her hands together and grinned smugly. "Yuko, huh? I gotta remember that name. Besides, Mr. Herriman said that you guys have to leave, but he didn't say when." Frankie walked by the bust of the old woman who founded this place and placed her hand on top of it. "Oh grandma, if you were here, you would've taught that stuffy bunny a thing or two!" The caretaker grabbed her bucket and mop, and proceeded to leave the room. "Good luck guys!" she said before she left.

"So I guess we are working together, huh?" Mac said

"It would seem so," Trevor responded.

"Man, I still can't get over the fact that you look like Kyle," Bloo exclaimed. "Is he you twin brother or something?"

"Like I said before, it's complicated…," the keyblader scratched the back of his head not sure if he should tell the group of imaginary friends his plight. "We have been looking for him, but it seems that we just missed him."

"At least we are on the right track," Miranda tried to encourage the keyblader.

"I'm glad about that, but remember what Mr. Herriman said; Zackary was on this world too. He's looking for Kyle and may be the one responsible for the Heartless outbreak on this world," Trevor deduced. "We need to lock this world's keyhole so the Heartless outbreak will cease."

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" Wilt asked. "Let's kick out those Heartless! I'm sorry. I wasn't being too rash was I?"

**KH-KH-KH**

Somewhere in the countless of hallways within the Foster's Home, Zim and Gir set up their temporary base of operations. Zim was surrounded by the Heartless that he had created to help him with his plans. The Heartless were little black orbs with a camcorder on top of them. The camcorder part had the Heartless insignia on it along with small helicopter rotors so the creature can fly and hover. One of the Heartless used its camcorder to show Zim a holographic image of Trevor talking to Mac and the others.

"This is perfect!" Zim rubbed his hands together. "Zackary's brother is on this world! If I could capture him the Forsaken will surely let me back in!"

"And we will get a corner office!" Gir squealed in robotic delight.

"FOCUS GIR! These keybladers are a wily bunch. That's why I need you and the Heartless to distract him while I finish building the ultimate Heartless. Do you understand Gir? Don't lead the keyblader and his companions to me. Lead them away from the backyard and when I am ready, I will come to you. Got it?"

The robot's eyes turned red and it saluted. "Yes, my master!"

"Good!" Zim stated as he took half of the Heartless with him. "I will be in the backyard. Remember, don't lead them there!"

Gir nodded, put on his dog costume, and pranced away with the remaining half of the Heartless. After a few moments, it paused and tilted its head to the side. "What was I suppose to do again?" it wondered aloud. "Oh yes, bring the keyblader to master Zim!" In mechanical glee, Gir ran off to search for the keyblader.

**KH-KH-KH**

"So, what does Senior Herriman mean about the world order?" Eduardo asked Trevor.

"Huh…It's complicated," the keyblader lied. "It's nothing really, but it can be a pain sometimes."

Sensing that Trevor's answer wasn't a satisfactory one, Miranda tied her best to explain without revealing too much. "Think of us as cops," the blonde began. "Every cop has his own beat; his own jurisdiction. Right now, me, Trevor, and Bonkers are outside our jurisdiction. Normally this would be bad, but the Heartless are invading places where normal people cannot defend themselves. So people like us are forced to overextend their authority to get rid of the Heartless. Understand?"

"Kinda," Mac said pondering the situation. "But it sounds like you guys are vigilantes."

Trevor laughed heartedly. "I suppose that is an accurate description nowadays."

The whole group arrived to the house's very large kitchen, which was oddly quiet. A strange light seem to fill the room foreshadowing anomalous events to come.

"How do we get rid of the Heartless again?" Bloo questioned in a bored tone.

"By finding this world's keyhole," Trevor said. "The problem is it is so hard to find."

The group then felt a small tremor followed by a large one. Gir, still wearing his dog-suit, burst through the ceiling and landed in front of them.

"I came here for the waffles!" the robot rejoiced.

"What the-?" everyone yelled in surprise.

"Who you're going to call?" Gir yelled as several Search Ghost Heartless appeared.

"The dog-thing is behind the Heartless attack?" Trevor shouted as he summoned his keyblade.

"Do you guys know this thing?" Miranda asked as she pulled out her katana.

"I'm sorry, but we never seen him before," Wilt answered.

"It doesn't matter, _Fire_!" the keyblader cast a _Fire_ on one of the Heartless, but the spell went right through the Search Ghost. "What? It was ineffective?"

"Let me try," Miranda said as she rushed toward one of the Heartless. She swung her sword around, but it passed through the Search Ghosts as if it was intangible. "What's going on?" blonde cop tried again. "I can't get a solid hit."

Bonkers then looked up and spotted the problem. "Look," he pointed at the ceiling. Several of the camcorder Heartless, known as Movie Magus, was projecting the images of the Search Ghost.

"The Search Ghosts are nothing, but a hologram," Trevor deduced.

"You mean like _NICO touches the wall_?" Gir pulled on the keyblader's pant leg. "I love that band!" Trevor tried to grab the robot, but Gir quickly evaded. "Can't touch this!"

"Take care of the Heartless, I will deal with the strange dog thing," Trevor called out.

Bonkers cast Thundaga, but all the Heartless scattered before the spell could hit them. The Movie Magi zipped around the kitchen like flies hyped up on an energy drink. From their camera lens they shot out yellow laser beams with the attribute of Thunder.

Miranda and Bonkers tried their best to be on the offensive, but the Heartless were too fast for them.

"Coco," Wilt said to the strange bird, palm tree, airplane hybrid, "We gotta find a way to help our friends!"

"Coco coco co," the imaginary bird said then laid an orange plastic egg.

Wilt opened up the plastic egg and found a basketball inside. "I see where you are going with this." With expert precision tossed the ball, as if he was passing it, and it crushed one of the Heartless. "Sorry," the tall imaginary apologized. He tossed the ball again and it ricocheted off four Heartless destroying them. "Sorry," he apologized again.

Trevor was still having a hard time catching Gir. The small robot was too fast for him. "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me, I'm the metallic man!" Gir rejoiced in robotic glee.

"We got to help Trevor catch that dog-thing," Mac said to Bloo and Eduardo.

"But how are we going to help Senior Trevor catch the dog-thing without getting zapped by the monstruos?" Eduardo questioned as he shivered with fear.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Mac said.

"Come on! Work for it!" Gir taunted the keyblader after one of Trevor's failed attempt to capture him. Trevor dove to grab the robot, but Gir simply rolled out of the way. Gir was running away from Trevor when Mac jumped in his way. The robot turned to find another escape route, but Bloo and Eduardo blocked his path.

"There is nowhere for you to run!" Mac warned Gir.

The robot looked around and saw that Wilt, Miranda, Bonkers, and Coco destroyed the last of the Heartless. The jig was up. "Time to see my master!" he announced.

"What? Master?" Trevor said astonished.

Gir activated his rocket thrusters and flew over the group. "I believe I can fly!" he said in a singsong voice, before leaving the kitchen.

"After him!" the keyblader yelled as everyone left the now wrecked kitchen and into one of the many hallways of the house.

Gir lead the group all throughout the house, before crashing through the back door. "Here's Johnny!" he happily exclaimed.

Zim, who was typing away at a large computer console, turned around to see what the commotion was. "Gir, what are you doing here?" the invader yelled.

"Leading the enemy here, sir," the robot clapped.

Zim slapped himself in the face. "I specifically told you to lead the keyblader AWAY FROM HERE! I'M NOT FINISH BUILDING THIS HEARTLESS!"

Before another moment could pass, Trevor and the others went out of the backdoor and into the backyard where October evening sky was beginning to darken. All of them saw the biggest computer screen they ever seen. It was 9' by 15', had the Heartless emblem displayed along with a status bar that said 95% of a file was finished downloading.

"What on Earth?…," Trevor began but failed to finish.

"I'm sorry, but this is not okay," Wilt began. "You can't just build computers in other people's backyard."

"Cool, I bet that thing has some awesome games!" Bloo yelled in amazement.

"BLOO!" Mac chastised.

"Oh, the games that this computer can play," Zim began while rubbing his hands together. "Games in which humans will lose and the IRKEN EMPIRE WILL BE VICTORIOUS!"

"Irken?" Miranda questioned. "You must be Zim; Flicker warned us about you!"

Trevor also put the pieces together. "Then the dog-thing must be Gir."

Gir took off his dog disguise and started running around in the very large backyard. "I'M STREAKING!" he cried out in jubilation.

The alien did a facepalm. "That robot will be the death of me…"

"Why are you here, Zim?" Trevor summoned his keyblade. "According to our intel my brother kicked you out of the Forsaken because you are a moron."

"LIES!" Zim yelled. "Those fools of the Forsaken didn't appreciate my superior intellect! Zackary, that filthy human, actually believed that I was of no use to him or his organization! Well, when I bring you to him I will prove my competence."

"Like that's going to happen!" Trevor pointed his keyblade at the alien. "Mac and want you to take all of the imaginary friends back inside the house; it's going to get messy out here."

"No way!" Mac argued. "We're not running away! Besides, we made a promise to Frankie."

"Somos hermanos de armas," said Eduardo.

"Besides, it's not like we have anything better to do," Bloo said throwing in his two cents.

"Fine," Zim said as he raised up a remote control. "If you humans and your pets want to the die, who am I to deny your wishes?" The green alien pressed a button and the computer screen behind him flickered for a moment.

The console near the screen transformed into two floating, mechanical hands while the screen itself gently floated into the air. The Heartless emblem appeared on the screen along the words: _'Hello, I'm the Cyber Bull-E 9000 cybernetic Heartless simulator. U mad?'_

Zim was laughing hysterically as his creation came to life. "Behold! The pinnacle of Irken technology! A mechanical Heartless with the ability to adapt to any situation!"

"We used the internet as the basis for its brain!" Gir added.

"I can haz keyblader's 3?" the Heartless asked when it was fully operational. Its voice sounded like a GPS which voice-chip was caught in a blender. The Heartless launched its right fist at Trevor, but the keyblader and his cohorts managed to dodge-rolled out of the way. The Cyber Bull-E 9000 then enveloped itself with a gigantic wall of fire then destroyed it sending thousands of fireballs in every direction.

Bonkers and Trevor tried to protect the entire party with _Shell_, but it barely managed to hold up against the onslaught.

"Blast," Trevor cursed as his magic barrier gave way.

"They see me rollin', they're hatin'," the Heartless said as it slammed both fist on the ground creating a massive shockwave.

"Yes, dance puppets! DANCE!" Zim laughed in evil glee seeing his creation wreak havoc.

Trevor was knocked out by the shockwave, but as he got up and charged the Heartless, his vision began to blur. Everything around him seemed to have a blue hue to it. The keyblader didn't pay any attention to the change of his surrounding; his mind was focused on destroying the monster. He jumped up and tried to perform a downward slash, but he phased through the Heartless as if it was a ghost.

"What the…?" Trevor said shocked. "Don't tell me that this Heartless is only a hologram too!"

"You are in a pocket dimension, you idiot!" said a whiny voice. Trevor turned around a saw Derrick walking toward him. "I'm the one who trap you here; in the space in between spaces. Funny, I thought the members of the Birch bloodline were supposed to be smart?" the gloomy-looking teen mocked. "Apparently you are the exception."

"How do you know about my family?" Trevor questioned. "Are you part of the Forsaken?"

Derrick tried to give Trevor a hard look, but it was ineffective. "Does it look like I'm part of the Forsaken? Perhaps my name will explain everything. I am Prince Derrick Blackthorn, last of the Blackthorn line."

Trevor didn't know what the teenager was talking about at all. However, there was something about the name Blackthorn that screamed like a warning in his mind. What the teen said seem impossible to him for some reason.

Derrick saw the look on Trevor's face and sighed heavily. "You really do have amnesia. How weak and cliché is that? Well let me refresh you memory; your father, Matthew Birch, murdered my father, Sid Blackthorn."

"Lair!" Trevor shouted. "My father will never do something terrible like that!"

"Oh, but he did; with great prejudice too. He and the other keybladers did it in the name of my family's destruction. You may know it as the Blackthorn Upheaval, some call it the Keyblade War Addendum, but I prefer to call it for what it was; a slaughter!"

"The Blackthorn Upheaval?" Trevor said to himself as an unearthed memory echoed within him.

The memory was fuzzy at first; the only thing he was able to recall was his father telling him something important. But as he stared at Derrick with questioning eyes, the dim recollection was becoming clearer with each passing moment. Trevor's eyes widen, staring at the dark keyblader as if the teen was a ghost of some insidious imaginary fiend.

"That's not possible…," he took a couple of steps back in disbelieve. "Y-you can't be a member of the Blackthorn family; you're too young. They died out over thirty years ago!"

"They didn't died out, they were killed!" Derrick corrected him. "Although, I can see why you don't believe that I'm the sole heir to the Blackthorn name. Let me enlighten you.

"As you know there were three royal keyblader families: the Willows - who guarded the Light Realm, the Birches - who guarded the Twilight Realms, and lastly the Blackthorns - keybladers in charge of guarding the entryways to the Dark Realm. These three families were called royalty, not because they were of noble blood, but because of their superior skill, mastery, and vast knowledge of the keyblade.

"The families used this knowledge to create three 'ultimate' spells. The Willows invented Holy, a devastating spell that brings down the power of Heaven to Earth. Your family, the Birches, came up with Ultima. A surprisingly effective spell despite it being non-elemental. My family, the Blackthorns, created Flare. The most powerful fire spell to ever exist. Depending on the wielder's skills, the spell could reduce anything it touches to ash…but I digress…

"A little over thirty years ago, my family felt underappreciated and tried to negotiate with the other two families in hopes to further extend the Blackthorn's influence. However, the Willows and the Birches refused. Instead, they started to wipe us out. That's when the Blackthorn Uprising began; when my family's slaughter commence.

"It didn't take long to wipe out my family. Soon, my father was the only one left. In a violent bloodlust, your father cast the one curse that the keybladers have: the Liquéfier la Malécdiction. A horrible curse; it causes the victim's inners to slowly liquefy. Nevertheless, your father used it on mine.

"He left my father for dead, but dear ol' dad was a crafty keyblader. He fled to the Dark Realm and learned how to absorb the energy from the darkness, slowing down the effects of the curse. That's how he spent the remainder of his life; wandering in the darkness, in constant agonizing pain.

"At least he wasn't alone. Eighteen years ago, a craft-user accidentally banished herself in the Dark Realm. She and my father fell in love and a few months later, I arrived on the scene. I spent most of my life in the Dark Realm, not knowing joy, happiness, or light. My mother…well…it was inevitable; she couldn't survive in that harsh environment. As for my father, he died when I was six years old; your father's curse finally took full effect.

"Lucky for me, my current master found me. He promised me revenge and power. Granted, he disappeared for nine years (trying to create the c-blade and obtaining a new vessel or something like that.), but he's back now and I am his protégé. Now is the time for my revenge. Your life for the price of my father's. That's a fair price if I do say so myself."

"That the biggest piece of bull I ever heard!" Trevor exclaimed once the story was over. "I remember now, what really happened was the Blackthorn family wanted to rule over all the keybladers. They wiped out the Willow clan and attempted to do the same with the Birches. Furthermore, your father, Sid, used the Liquéfier la Malédiction to kill my father's brother. My father used the curse to return the favor."

Derrick shrugged indifferently and waved off what Trevor said as if it wasn't his concern. "The devil is in the details," he said nonchalantly. "It's a matter of interpretation; everything is relative."

"No, it's a matter of facts," Trevor corrected. "What matters are the facts and the truth."

"My heart doesn't crave truth, it wants revenge!" Derrick summoned his keyblade, which appeared out of a cloud of dark miasma.

The stem of the weapon looked like a branch of a crooked dead tree, while the teeth looked like the blade of a large ceremonious dagger used in forbidden rituals. The guard was made from an ebony metal that was altered to look like the bark of a tree. Its shape is two twisted branches that looked like they are emerging from the stem, but never bother to meet again at the base of the keyblade's handle. The dark keyblade's token was a small skull attached to the weapon with a keychain made of tiny bones. The keyblade's name appeared in Trevor's head: Deatheater. The name rang out like a funeral bell and a scared, low whisper, instead of chime bells and a voice full with confident like other keyblades.

"The death of one of Matthew's sons will be compensation for the death of my father." Derrick said while brandishing his keyblade, "That seems fair, right?"

"You're crazy," Trevor exclaimed as he summoned his keyblade. "We don't have to fight; this battle is pointless!"

"No," the dark keyblader shook his head, "it's just retribution. **Flare!**"

Hellish red flames burst forth from Derrick's keyblade and rushed toward Trevor with torture screams of agony. The flames of the spell continue to grow as it rapidly approached the keyblader.

"**NulBlaze!**" Trevor cast just in time before the spell hit. A giant red barrier enveloped him in hopes to protect him, but it wasn't enough. As soon as _Flare_ hit the barrier, it started to shatter and Trevor gathered up all of his mana in hope to repair the deteriorating barrier. It was too little, too late. _NulBlaze_ completely shattered and Trevor was caught up in a maelstrom of fire and dark magic.

It was the most painful experience that the keyblader has ever felt. He whole body felt like it was about to be ripped apart; the pain was so bad he couldn't even scream. Trevor blackout out for a couple of second, though it felt like an eternity. The keyblader found himself laying flat on his back, in intense pain, in a complete terrified awe of the third legendary spell. He wanted to shiver in fear, but it hurt to move one iota.

"Good, you're alive," Derrick was now standing over him showing no emotion. "It wouldn't be fun if you died after the first attack." The dark keyblader raised his weapon over Trevor and dropped it.

Against his body's cries of pain, Trevor blocked the attack with his keyblade. He then fired a _Blizzaga_ at Derrick. The spell missed, but it was enough of a distraction for him to roll away and cast _Curaga_ on himself. All of Trevor's wounds healed when he cast the spell, but for some reason he still felt like he still have burns all over his body.

'_Such is the power of _Flare_,'_ Trevor thought. _'He somehow mastered such a spell at his age… He's truly is a Blackthorn.'_

"Ready to give up?" Derrick taunted.

"You wish. **Stun!**" Trevor fired a ball of light hoping to paralyze the teenager.

"Child's play!" the dark keyblader laughed as he dodged the spell. "**Scourge!**" he yelled and sent a cloud of miasma to our hero.

Trevor rolled out of the way and gathered his mana for his next attack. He knew that Derrick was only playing with him and was holding back his true strength. His only hope was to hit the teenager hard before he decides to bring out the big guns again. "**Ultima!**" the keyblader chanted.

"What?" Derrick exclaimed as the spell flew towards him. "**Flare!**" he cast and the two spell collided with each other. Sparks flews, the wind around the key-wielders howled as each struggled for their spell to dominate the other. For a while, it seems that Derrick was going to win the struggle, but then his spell started to wan. Trevor simply had more experience and more mana than the teenager did. His _Flare_ gave way and Trevor's _Ultima_ hit him like a sack of bricks.

"Bull's eye…," said an exhausted, but relieved Trevor.

"No…..," Derrick cried as he staggered to get back up. "No…. I can't lose!" He remembered what Braig said to him a while ago, about needing more training before entering the 'battlefield.' The teen refused to admit that Braig was right and that Trevor was stronger than him. At that moment, failure was not an option for him. "_Level 6 Banish:_ **Hellmouth!**"

The ground beneath Trevor started to shake and crumble. He tried to run, but the ground gave way. A large, seemingly bottomless, pit was formed with Trevor hanging over the side of it. As he tried to pull himself up, it felt like a fire was ignited at the bottom of the pit. The heat started to rise from the pit and choked the keyblader like venomous claws that wanted to drag him down.

Derrick stepped on Trevor's fingers trying to make the other keyblader fall down the pit. "Time for you to take an extended vacation!" the dark keyblader mocked.

"Enough!" yelled a demanding voice.

Hanging from in the pit, Trevor didn't know who the voice belong to, but it sounded feminine and it made Derrick stopped crushing his fingers. He then heard the voice chanted something in a language he didn't know; next thing he knew he was floating in air and the hellmouth below him was closing up. As the keyblader floated gently to the ground, he got a good look at the owner of the voice.

It was a woman with long dark ebony hair and a dull look on her face. She was wearing dark sunglasses so he couldn't see her eyes. Her body was covered with a long black overcoat that had more straps and buttons than necessary: especially on the arms. Underneath the overcoat was a charcoal black suit along with a black tie. The mysterious woman wore black lipstick and black nail polish making Trevor believe that she was a goth of some kind. She had a keyblade in her left hand, but quickly dismissed it before Trevor could get a good look at it.

"The master told you not to engage with the keybladers of light or any of their cohorts, Derrick," the woman said in a monotone with no emotion whatsoever. "Or have you forgotten?"

"I COULD HAVE DESTROYED HIM!" Derrick yelled like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "I'm ready to have my revenge! Helen, can't you SEE that?"

Helen was un-phased. "Have you forgotten our mission on this world? It was very important and you blew it off to have a playdate with one of the Birch family in a pocket dimension. Lucky for you, I completed it. It would seem that the old keyblader woman that lives on this world is no longer here; she probably died some time ago given her age."

"That's fine and good, but-" Derrick tried to argue.

"Stand down," Helen said.

"But-"

"Stand. Down."

Derrick dropped his head and dismissed his keyblade. Out of everyone in Xehanort's group, Helen is one of the two people he dared not to mess with.

Helen turned to Trevor and in an even, flat voice said, "Your life has been spared son of Matthew… For the moment." She opened a corridor of darkness and pushed Derrick in.

"Wait," Trevor cried out. "Who is your master? What are your plans? Are you siding with Naraku or the Forsaken?"

The woman sighed and mumbled something in a forgotten tongue. "That is not for you do know," said at last. Before Trevor could respond, she entered the dark portal and closed it behind her.

The blue tint to the background was lifted as the pocket dimension faded away. There was a horrible metal sound from behind him and when he turned to look, Bonkers fell on top of him.

"Trevor," the cartoon bobcat began, "where were you?"

"I will tell you about it later," the keyblader said as he pushed Bonkers off of him.

The Heartless known as the Bull-E 9000 was still terrorizing the backyard of Foster's. Miranda and Wilt seem like they were the only two to hold the monster back.

"Where on earth have you been?" Miranda yelled at Trevor. "You leave us to fight this…thing!"

The Heartless raised its fists, charged with electricity. It then slammed them on the ground causing lightning to cover the entire battle area. Lucky for the party, Bonkers and Trevor quickly cast _NulShock_ before the spell can hit them.

When the Heartless' spell subsided, Trevor came up with an idea. "This thing's brain is based on the internet right? I think I know a way to defeat it." The keyblader stepped out in the open and started shouting at the Heartless computer. "Hey ugly! This fight is going nowhere so I challenge you to a boosting contest!"

The Bull-E 9000 stopped what it was doing and its circuits hummed as it was making its decision. "Challenge accepted," it said as it displayed a stick figure with its arms crossed on its screen. "I can process over 20 terabytes of data," the computer began.

"Well, once I defeated over ninety Heartless in a day."

"That's nothing. I was programmed and built to destroy any keyblader that gets in my way or the way of my master. In fact, if I was surrounded by twenty keybladers I can come up with 274 different scenarios where I would win."

"Is that all? I had to face an immortal dragon; I took it down in less than twenty minutes."

"Immortal dragons are nothing compare to my programming! Because my OS came from Apple instead of Windows my programming has never experience a glitch or a crash."

"Don't underestimate Windows. One time, I wrote a program to calculate the Fibonacci sequence recursively. I ask the program to perform the sequence until the 500th number; Windows gave me the answer in ten seconds."

"Really?" If the Heartless had eyes, it would have been huge a dinner plates. Any computer scientist worth his salt knows that any computer program that's done recursively will take a long time to compute. It is for that reason the Bull-E 9000 was so shocked that a Windows Operating System could calculate the 500th number in the Fibonacci sequence recursively in ten seconds; it's unheard of.

"Yup," Trevor said with his arms crossed. "And one more thing… I own a horse."

The Heartless' screen then displayed; "Bull-E 9000 has logged off." The monster crashed to the ground and shut itself off.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Zim yelled in agony seeing his creation destroyed.

The Heartless released its giant crystal heart and it floated away off to Kingdom Hearts.

"Not the most exciting battle I had with a Heartless, but any battle I can walk away from alive is noteworthy in my book," Trevor sighed.

"You filthy Earth creature!" Zim pointed at the keyblader. "You ruined my plans for the last time!" The alien opened a dark corridor and tossed Gir in it.

"Hole in one!" Gir yelled.

"YOU ALL SHALL RUE THIS DAY!" Zim continued. "I will grant the power of the keyblade and share its secrets with the Irken Empire! Then the Irken Race will rule all and I will be known as the greatest invader EEEEVVVVVEEEEERRRRR!"

"Oh, just shut up!" Trevor yelled as he fired a _Thundaga_ spell at the alien.

Zim dodged the spell and escaped in the portal.

"Do you think it's wise to let that one go?" Miranda questioned as the corridor of darkness closed itself. "You saw how much damage he can cause."

Trevor shook his head. "Zim is just a small fish in a large pond full of powerful villains. We have bigger and eviler fish to fry."

"I'm sorry, I hate to ask," Wilt began, "but did we get rid of the Heartless problem?"

"Not quite yet," the keyblader said looking around the backyard. "All I need to do is seal this world's keyhole. However, I don't see it…"

"Phttt, what good can a keyhole do?" Bloo said with his arms crossed.

"For starters, locking the keyhole will strengthen the barrier around this world so no Heartless can get in…," Trevor was only half-paying attention to his explanation; his concentration was else where. "Where is that keyhole? When we beat a boss the keyhole always appears."

"Maybe this keyhole is not in the backyard," Mac said throwing in his two cents. "It could be that it is in the house somewhere."

"That is the most logical answer," Miranda nodded.

The keyblader shrugged and silently agreed; he couldn't think of another solution. "Alright then, we'll look in the mansion."

**KH-KH-KH**

The whole group found themselves at the mansion's foyer once again with Mr. Herriman waiting for them. The imaginary rabbit did not seem to be happy; his arms were folded and he angrily tapped his right foot.

"I thought I told you hoodlums to leave this world!" he yelled at Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda. "Don't make me call the police on you three!"

"But Mr. Herriman," Mac pleaded, "Trevor and his friends are heroes! They saved this house from the Heartless!"

"Hmph! Such rubbish!" the rabbit scoffed. "Young man, your misguided loyalty to these three is honorable, but you can't provide a defense for these hoodlums that will hold water. These three broke some very serious rules. I'm afraid that you, Blooregard, and the three ruffians must leave this house immediately."

"Not so fast!" said a voice behind Herriman. Everyone turned around and saw Frankie.

"Miss Frances," Mr. Herriman said in a low, disappointed voice. "I should have known… It was you who allowed the rule breakers to stay. How dare you bring shame down upon this house and the name of Foster!"

"Bring shame on what?" Frankie said taken aback for a split second. "Just because you don't agree with someone doesn't make them a rule breaker! There obviously something going on in this house and I sent them to investigate it!"

Eduardo tried to stand up for the caretaker. "Sí, the monsters-"

"For the last time!" Mr. Herriman yelled having it up to here. "THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS MONSTERS!"

A terrifying roar then came from above their heads and echoed throughout the house. Everyone looked up and a giant Heartless fell from the ceiling and landed on the staircase. The Heartless was a huge arachnid that resembled a black widow spider. The color of its body was purple except for the legs, which were obsidian. Instead of the red hourglass, it had the Heartless emblem on its abdomen. Its entire length was that of a decent-sized room and its height was nine feet.

"Still don't believe in monsters?" Trevor's retort was directed at Herriman.

"What kind of imaginary friend is that?" Frankie Foster said in disbelief. "It must have been imagined by a teenager boy or something."

"That is no imaginary friend," Mr. Herriman said wearing a stern look across his face.

Frankie never had seen Mr. Herriman like this before. The rabbit gave off the feeling that he was once a warrior in combat many years ago.

"Can't you sense its malice?" the rabbit began. "No human of _this_ world made or imagine that fiend. You should go Miss Frances, the men will take care of this."

"No way!" Frankie protested, slamming her foot on the ground. "When the battle is over you're only going to ask me to come back to clean up the mess. I'm staying! This is my home too and I'm going to fight for it!"

"Well Trevor," Miranda began, "you wanted to know why the keyhole hasn't appeared…"

"Yeah, it was because we didn't defeated the boss after all," the keyblader spat.

The spider Heartless charged, but it wasn't heading for the group, but the statue of Madame Foster. The bust started to glow and transformed into the world's keyhole.

"The keyhole of the world was there the whole time?" Trevor shouted as he charged the Heartless. "We can't allow the Heartless to get near that keyhole!" The keyblader fired a _Firaga_ spell, but the Heartless dodged it. The creature fired some webbing from its mouth at the keyblader, but Trevor rolled out of the way and it hit Wilt instead, pinning him to the wall.

"I'm sorry, but that's _not_ okay," the tall imaginary friend complained.

The Heartless began climbing the wall at a speed much faster than one would expect a creature of that size could go. Once it reached the top of the wall, it jumped off and slammed into the floor creating a massive shockwave. Everyone stumbled a bit, but the shockwave wasn't so bad.

Knowing that the Heartless was a giant spider and bug Heartless tend to be susceptible to fire spells, Trevor cast another _Firaga_. The giant spider shrieked in pain as the spell made contact. Bonkers and Trevor continued firing fire spells at the monster, but then something strange happened. The creature's dark body turned a light red and the fire spells became ineffective.

"It's absorbing the fire spells now!" the keyblader warned Bonkers. "Try using ice spells!"

The two magic users switched their tactics, but after the two spells landed, the Heartless' body color change from red to swirls of red and ice blue.

"It's immune to both fire and ice now!" Trevor cursed.

"Try using _Ultima_," Miranda suggested.

"I can't; I don't have enough mana," the keyblader lamented. "Besides, we don't want it to become immune to that spell. Remember what happened when we tried that against the Chaos Dragon?"

The blonde swordswoman shrived a bit remembering the intense battle. There was only one option left to them. "Then we have no choice, but to use physical force."

"Cocococo," Coco exclaimed as she run over to Trevor and laid a bunch of plastic eggs.

"What's this now?" the keyblader questioned as he kick open an egg. A small cartoonish bomb rolled out of the yellow plastic egg, startling the keyblader. "WHAT THE?" Trevor quickly swatted the bomb away with his keyblade. The bomb then landed on the Heartless and exploded on contact. "Oh, I think I know what you are trying to tell me," he said as he picked up one of the eggs. He hit the egg with his keyblade like a bat and the plastic egg soared until it hit the spider resulting in an explosion. Trevor continued to do so with each and every plastic egg that Coco laid making the spider Heartless recoil with every explosion.

"I got this," Miranda yelled as she charged the monster. She preformed five quick slashes on the beast's head and underbelly. For a minute, the monster couldn't walk; now was the time for everyone to attack.

"Everybody, TOGETHER!" Trevor yelled. The whole group charged the stunned Heartless, including Bloo who intend to attack with his paddleball and Mac who swung his backpack over his head like a mace. All it took was a single hit from everybody for the Heartless to give up its heart. As the monster's body slowly faded away, its giant crystal heart floated off to the heavens.

"It would seem like I own you three an apology," Mr. Herriman said to Trevor and his friends when the dust settled. "Though I don't agree with your methods, you had the interest of the world in heart and for that I thank you. However, now that your business is done here I suggest you three leave immediately to save the world's order."

"WHAT?" Frankie yelled. She knew that Mr. Herriman was capable of many act of thanklessness, but this was a new low. "They save our butts and you are going to kick them out?"

"Yeah Mr. Herriman, that doesn't seem fair," Mac added.

"Fair or not, rules are rules and shouldn't be broken!" the imaginary rabbit defended himself. "Rules are how man distinguishes himself from the savage animals."

"But some rules can be bent for time to time," said an old and far off voice. Everyone looked up the staircase and saw a little old lady slowly making her descend with her crane. The small elderly woman wore glasses and her gray hair was tied up to a bun.

Trevor recognized her at once, for it was the same old woman that the bust was based on.

Before the keyblader could say anything, Bloo beat him to the punch. "Madame Foster, you're alive!" the blob exclaimed.

"Huh? Well, of course I'm alive!" Madame Foster said startled. "Why on earth would you say such a thing?"

"Well," Trevor began, "it's just that we have been around here for a few hours and the way everybody was talking about you, we just assumed…"

"It takes me awhile to get down the steps, okay? I am old!" the old woman exclaimed. "Speaking of steps, this place is a madhouse. It's crazy; steps, steps, steps, hallways, hallways. I got lost in a hallway for a week once; had to survive on toothpaste and acorns. But what are you going to do? Let's have a closer look at our guests, shall we?"

Madame Foster gave Trevor a look over before laughing to herself. "My, my, it's been awhile since I seen a keyblader of the twilight. You must be part of the Birch family; I recognize that chin feature anywhere."

Trevor was taken aback. "You know about my family? And the keyblade?"

"Of course dearie," the old woman said and extended her right hand. A shiny, golden keyblade appeared in her hand causing everybody, expect for Herriman, to gasp. The teeth of the blade were shaped like an elaborate 'F' and the guard resembled two tidal waves crashing done in a Victorian style. The keychain was a silver link-chain attached to a top hat token. The name of the weapon was _Mischievous Dignitary_.

"Y-y-you're a keyblader?" Trevor stammered. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Ho ho," Madame Foster laughed. "Of course I am. I've even trained under the Willow family when I was a little younger than you. Those were the days…"

"You were a courtier of the royal Willow family? It's an honor to be in your presence." Trevor did a quick bow to show respect. "I am sorry that the Blackthorns wiped out the Willow family; they were good people."

"Yes, they were," the old keybearer said sadly, "and they still are. You can't wipe out what's good in the World: not completely anyway. Even though the Blackthorn family tried to eliminate them, there were some survivors."

"Some of the Willow family survived?"

"Oh yes, some of them did. One of them was my best friend during my training. I haven't talk to her for a long time; I hope she's all right. Last I spoke to her she had a granddaughter. Oh, what was her granddaughter's name? Ocean, sea? The name was something that deals with the ocean.

"But listen to me prattle on about nothing. You must be on an important journey. Don't lie to me about it; I know that look in your eye. That's the burden of the keybearer: a burden that's both tragic and beautiful. We know certain secrets of the universe that many would love to know, but at times, such knowledge weighs heavy in our hearts. We who are the stewards, guardians, and caretakers of the World's secrets must have a steadfast heart and unyielding values. Promise me young one that you won't let the World and its many trappings wear you down."

"I promise ma'am," Trevor said solemnly.

"Now don't you have something to take care of?" she pointed to the keyhole.

Trevor summoned his keyblade. "I forgot about that." He raised his weapon and the keyblade fired a beam of light, locking the world and turning the keyhole back into the bust.

"Now let me get a good look at you two," Madame Foster said to Miranda and Bonkers. "Quite an unusual trio we have here. Nevertheless, the thing about unusual groups of friends is that they always prevail in the end. Look after the young keyblader and make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Of course ma'am," Miranda promised while Bonkers saluted.

"I see that we have another problem," Madame Foster said looking at Mac and Bloo. She walked over to Mac and gave the boy a hard look. "Yep, you got it. I haven't seen an imagination as pure as that since…well…me!" The old woman laughed to herself. "But you are a good kid my dear. The fact that you have your imaginary friend and made friends with every friend in this house is wonderful; it's simply wonderful. I like you, I really do. Now let's see about your little friend here." She turned to Bloo.

After a moment at staring at the blue blob, Madame Foster gave her assessment. "Well, look at you! Aren't you're something special: so pure, so simple, and a true friend. Okay, I have made up my mind; Bloo can stay here and won't get adopted, but only if you promise to visit him everyday."

"Thank you!" Mac said ecstatically. "You don't know how much it means to us!"

"In your face! Booyah!" Frankie said to the stuffy imaginary rabbit.

"But Madame!" Mr. Herriman objected. "Forgive me for saying this, but the house's rules clearly states-"

"Oh, you and your rules," Madame Foster waved off the rabbit's concern like she was swatting flies. "He has always been like that ever since I'd imagined him when I was a little girl."

"Wait, _you_ created Mr. Herriman?" Miranda asked surprised.

"Yup. He still nothing but a hot-crust bunny, but I love him; my big funny bunny."

Even though he appreciated the compliment, Mr. Herriman huffed and crossed his arms to save face. "But the out-worlders still have no right to-"

"Oh, will you stop going on about that?" the old woman rolled her eyes. "Like you never traveled between worlds. You're one to talk!"

"But Madame," the rabbit whined, "I only did it to follow you around."

"Hmm, so you did!" Madame Foster laughed. "Those were some wild days," she said in nostalgic reflection.

"In any case, Mr. Herriman is right; it is time for us to go," Trevor announced. "There are other worlds that need our help."

Madame Foster smiled and nodded. "Well, we're not going to keep you-"

Suddenly the front door opened and a boy with a huge head ran in. "Nobody move! Has anyone seen an alien named Zim?" Dib asked.

**Next Chapter: The Lost Empire**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Marvin the Paranoid Android: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy(novel 1979)

Mac: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Bloo: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Frankie Foster: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Wilt: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Eduardo: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Coco: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Mr. Herriman: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Madame Foster: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends(2004)

Helen (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom


	28. The Lost Empire

**Author's Notes: I'm back! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a happy new year. Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 27: The Lost Empire**

The Heart of Gold surged along the deepest reaches of inner-space. The crew waited to reach their next destination. Trevor had just finished telling Miranda and Bonkers what happened between him and Derrick.

"So," Miranda said at last. "There's someone else now. It's bad enough when it was just Naraku and Zackary, now we have some mysterious keyblader causing trouble."

"During my Mark of Mastery exam," Trevor stated, "Yuko said that someone awful has return; though, she never mentioned his name. There is a chance that that person and Derrick's master are one in the same."

Before they could discuss the situation any further, Eddie interrupted them. "Attention gang," the computer program bleeped, "but we have arrived to a new world!"

The computer screen shown a world with half of it covered by a city and the other half with an ocean. The world didn't look special, but the crew knew better than to judge a book by its cover.

"The world is called _Humble Conurbation_," Eddie continued. The computer silently hummed as its sensors was detecting what's on the world. "I'm picking up strange readings from the world. Like here's something wrong with its keyhole… Like it's emitting some strange power… Also there's enormous clutters of Heartless all over this world; thousands of them if not, millions!"

"WHAT?" Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda yelled in unison. "Are they near the keyhole?" the keyblader questioned.

"No….," Eddie answered bemused. "They are far from the keyhole and yet….,"

Trevor didn't wait for the computer to finish his answer; he wanted to protect the world. "Just teleport us near the keyhole so I lock the world!" he demanded.

Eddie wasn't sure about the keyblader's demanded, but it was programmed to comply. "Okeydokey," the program signed trying to tell itself that everything was going to be alright. "Teleporting everyone to an area near the keyhole."

In a brilliant flash of light, the trio vanished from the Heart of Gold.

**KH-KH-KH**

The three travelers found themselves in a large cavern with stalactites hanging threatening far above them. Their surroundings were very dark and the stagnate air was suffocating. It was clear that they were miles underneath the world's surface.

"Did Eddie make a mistake in teleporting us here?" Miranda asked trying to get her bearings. "Surely the keyhole to the world can't be here."

"Stupid computer!" the keyblader cursed. "When we get back I'm going to reprogram that thing to be more competent."

"Hey, there's a light up ahead," Bonkers pointed out to them. Sure enough there was a large campsite with tents cluttered everywhere.

"At least there's people down here that can help us," Trevor said in relief.

When the group approached the site they were quickly surrounded by soldiers who pointed their guns at them. Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda swiftly put their hands in the air not wanting a confrontation. A large, muscular man with graying hair came forward with a blonde woman. From the way they were dressed and carried themselves they were obviously military. The man was middle-aged and had a crew cut. The woman was wearing a tank top, her hair up in a bun, and was sporting a Smith and Western on her hip.

"Well, well, well," the man swaggered toward them. "Look who stumbled upon our jamboree." Some of the soldiers laughed, but they never dropped their guard. "So tell me," the man continued, "are you spies, stowaways, mercenaries? Perhaps a combination of any of the three?"

"We're…explorers," Trevor lied. "We were exploring a cave system, but got lost. After wandering about for a few hours we are glad to see you. Maybe you know the way out?"

"You have been wandering in a cave for hours and your clothes are nice and clean?" the military woman raised an eyebrow.

"Stain and dirt resistant clothing?" Bonkers shrugged hoping that they will buy it.

"And we're hundreds of miles beneath the ocean," the man went on. "And you want us to believe that you just happen to stumble upon it?"

"It's a pretty big cave system?" Trevor blurted out not knowing what else to say.

The soldiers started to move in closer, but the man stop them. "Let's stop beating around the bush and cut the crap, shall we?" he began. "We know that you are not explorers, so there's no reason for you to lie to us about that. So what are you three after?"

Trevor looked at Miranda then at Bonkers; both cops shrugged their shoulders. The keyblader decided to tell the truth even though it wouldn't make sense to his captors. "We are travelers from another world seeking to protect your world from invading creatures of darkness."

For a long time the man stared at Trevor as if he was trying to make up his mind. The woman just had a look of disbelieve and disgust spread across her face. "You expect us to believe that?" the woman said at last. "At least it was more believable than your 'explorer' story."

The keyblader sighed. "I can prove it. Look." He summoned his keyblade causing everyone to point their guns and riffles at Trevor. Even the man and the woman took out their guns and pointed at the keyblader.

"Fancy trick," the man sneered. "But no blade is faster than a bullet!"

Before the man could pull the trigger, a skinny man with glasses emerged from the crowd waving his arms frantically. "No, don't shoot!" he cried hysterically. "Commander Rourke, don't shoot him!"

Commander Rourke rolled his eyes. He refused to take his finger off the trigger. "What do you want Thatch?" he growled. "This is not a situation a scholar should be involved in."

The man known as Thatch was very scrawny for someone his age. His overall look screamed bookworm. He was holding a leather-bound book and was pointing to a page. "See," Thatch argued. "Somehow this young man has the 'Key of Insight.' It's right here in the Shepherd's Journal." The page on the book showed an ancient looking picture of a man holding a keyblade. The rest of the page was covered with nearly indecipherable runes and symbols. "These three are connected to Atlantis somehow. We need to question them!"

"And what do you think we were trying to do?" the woman said annoyed.

"Lt. Sinclair, you and your men were one second away from blowing their heads off!" the scholar yelled.

"It's called aggressive negotiation," Commander Rourke sugarcoated it. He put away his gun, but never took his hand off the holster; his men followed suit. "My guess is that you three are looters who stowed away," he said to the travelers. "Lucky for you Mr. Milo Thatch here thinks you three are some use to us. If you three don't answer all of his questions… Well, let's just say there are plenty of places to bury a body in a cave. I leave them in your charge Milo Thatch; make sure that they don't escape." He and Lt. Sinclair left with the other soldiers following suit.

"Don't mind him," Milo tried to comfort them. "He was just looking out for the team. My name is Milo Thatch by the way; I'm the team's linguist and cartographer."

"I'm Trevor and these are my friends Miranda and Bonkers." After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Trevor decided to get to the heart of the matter. "Why are all of you wandering down here? What are you searching for?"

Milo looked stunned for a split second. "Don't you know? We are looking for the lost city of Atlantis!"

"But isn't that is just a myth?" Bonkers scratched his head.

Trevor nodded. "It was an allegory that Plato thought up to warn everybody that no matter how advance your civilization is, it can still be wiped out by Mother Nature."

"Only it's not myth," Milo insisted, "or an allegory. It actually exists and this book is a roadmap to find it." The scholar held up the Shepherd's Journal.

"It could be a fake," Miranda said, but she didn't want to hurt Milo's feelings.

The keyblader agreed. "Cons like this are not uncommon. Did you get that journal from a reliable source?"

"Yeah, my late grandfather found it," Milo said. "He knew that this journal is the real deal; it even talks about your Key of Insight."

"'_Key of Insight?'_" Trevor questioned. "You mean my keyblade?" he summoned his weapon to show the scholar. "That book talks about that?"

"Briefly," Milo said flipping through the pages of the journal. "Very briefly. It says that the founder of the Atlantean civilization used a powerful weapon known as the 'Key of Insight' to harness the world's inner light to create the kingdom's power source in order to advance his society. We're talking about everything from medicine, electricity, flying machines; the whole gambit!

"Because of this patriarch and his Key of Insight, Atlantis was thousands of years ahead of any civilization of that time or since! However, one day the city just disappeared and the Shepherd's Journal then stops talking about it as if there was a page missing. That's one of the many reasons why I am here; to find out why this civilization disappeared and to find the power source (what they call the Heart of Atlantis). This power source could revolutionize the entire world!"

"Uh-huh, that's a lovely story," Trevor wasn't buying in to the 'Atlantis-is-real' story. "However, we are on an important mission ourselves. So if you excuse us." As Trevor turned to leave he accidentally bumped into another person and fell to the ground.

"Sorry kid, but that's not going to happen," Trevor looked up and saw a tall African-American man who helped him back up. "Lt. Helga Sinclair sent us to make sure Milo doesn't let you escape."

"Us?" Trevor questioned.

"I'm Dr. Joshua Sweet, the team's medical officer," the man answered.

A girl in overalls stepped from behind Dr. Sweet and gave the keyblader the stank-eye. "I'm Audrey the chief mechanic," she said lackadaisically.

Another man with dark hair and a brushy mustache appeared. "Vinny," he introduced himself in a think Italian accent. "I'm in demolitions."

Before any of the three could answer a short, dirty man tackled Miranda and Bonkers to the ground and with a pair of tweezers puck a piece of dirt from the blonde and bobcat and carefully examined the samples. "They are from an urban environment," he said in a thick French accent, "Lots of smog and traffic…Some gun residue; they must be cops." He then tackled Trevor and repeated the process. "This one is interesting…," he rolled the small spec of dirt in his mouth, absorbing the favor. "You lived in a large city for quite some time, but you traveled to many exotic lands… However you are from a more rural setting… A small village perhaps?"

Before Trevor could answer, Dr. Sweet pulled out a bar of soap and waved it threatening at the French man. "Back, Mole back! Play nice! Don't make me have to use this!"

Mole hissed like a vampire in the presence of garlic and scampered away.

Audrey just rolled her eyes. "That was Mole, our geologist. He's like that because-"

"Audrey, don't tell them!" Dr. Sweet warned. "She told me and I'm telling you, you _do not_ want to know."

Suddenly, bells started ringing, warning everyone in the camp that danger was coming. Before anyone could react, small portals of darkness appeared and lesser Nobodies jumped out of them. Trevor never saw these types of Nobodies before. The creatures had a wiry body shape, white faceless masks covered their heads, and they were brandishing spears with blades shaped like the Nobody emblem.

Everyone, except for Milo, got out a weapon of some sort. "Great, Nobodies," Trevor signed. "We got our work cut out for us."

"Just what are these things?" Vinny asked, "and are they safe to blow up?"

"Stop!" Milo exclaimed. "They might be Atlanteans!"

"Trust me, they're not Atlanteans," the keyblader said looking over his shoulders.

The Nobodies went on a rampage attacking everyone on sight. During the skirmish, one the Nobodies knocked over an oil lamp and the entire camp was set ablaze. Despite their meager appearance, the Nobodies were difficult to defeat. They kept disappear and repeating as if they can leave and enter this reality at their own volition.

Trevor was fending off three of the Nobodies when he noticed that some of the creatures had surrounded Milo. "I'm coming Milo," but the Nobodies blocked the keyblader's path. He tried a downward slash, but the creature faded out of existence then reappeared behind him. It tried to stab him with the spear, but Trevor blocked it in the knick of time. As the other two Nobodies started closing in, a woman in a tribal mask appeared and slew the monsters with her spear. With one Nobody threatening our hero remaining, Trevor turned around and destroyed it with one fell swoop.

The woman in the tribal mask cautiously went up to Trevor and started talking to him in a language that he didn't understand. It sounded to the keyblader that the woman was trying to question him. "Look, I don't understand what you are saying," he began, "but that man over there needs our help," he pointed to Milo with his keyblade. One of the Nobodies jab its spear at the scholar. The attack left a cut on Milo's right shoulder but it wasn't life threatening. The woman nodded at the keyblader and the two ran over to save Milo.

The masked tribal woman pounced on one of the Nobodies making short work of it. Trevor used _Thundaga_, but his target faded out of existence. The Nobody reappeared behind him, but the keyblader was ready for it. "It didn't work the first time and it won't work the second time," he taunted. He parried the creature's attack and performed a combo of his own, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Nobody.

With amazing agility and surprising grace, the Nobody leapt several feet in the air and landed between the keyblader and the mysterious woman. It swung its spear around, which magically became elongated, and managed to hit both Trevor and the woman.

Gathering themselves up, they charged the creature and landed combo after combo. With spectacular speed and precision, both Trevor and the mysterious woman plunged their weapons into the Nobody destroying it.

With the last Nobody near them destroyed, Trevor turned his attention to the injured scholar. "Milo, are you okay?" he asked running over.

Milo seethed in pain a bit as he covered the wound with his left hand. "I can hardy move my right arm, but I'm fine."

The masked woman ran over to the scholar and took her mask off. Both Trevor and Milo saw that the woman was beautiful, had long white hair, blue eyes, and dark skin. She took the crystal that was hanging around her neck and spoke softly to it causing the gem to glow a bright blue. When she touched Milo's wound with the crystal the scholar's injury quickly closed up; it didn't even left a scar as a reminder of the incident. This stunned both Trevor and Milo; never before they seen this kind of healing art.

Without hesitation, the mysterious woman picked up her mask and ran into the nearest tunnel.

"Wait!" Milo called out to her as he and Trevor gave chase.

**KH-KH-KH**

Commander Rourke's camp was in ruins. All of the Nobodies were finally destroyed and the fire was put out. "Whoever isn't dead say 'here,'" he called out to whoever was listening. Several people moaned and headed to Rourke's direction.

"Good thing we wiped out those creatures and put out that fire," Mole said. "We appear to be inside the magma chamber of a volcano."

"You mean this thing could blow up at any time!" Audrey said startled, looking at the ground as if it could turn into lava at any second.

The geologist quickly tested the soil. "No, she is dormant. It would take a massive explosion to set her off."

Everyone then turned to look at Vinny who was trying to fix a bomb. Acutely aware of the glances, the demolitions expert stopped what he was doing. "Maybe I should work on this later, huh?" he said as he put the bomb away.

"It looks like the volcano shaft goes all the way to the outside. We might be able to use that to get back out of here," Rourke remarked.

"Has anyone seen Trevor," Miranda questioned as she looked around. "We were separated from him when the battle got pretty heated."

"Milo is also missing," Lt. Sinclair suddenly noticed. "Could the creatures have gotten them?"

"Wait!" They all heard Milo's yell and turned around to see Trevor and Milo chasing after a strange woman.

"After them!" Com. Rourke commanded.

The whole group gave chase and traveled down a series of winding tunnels. It was easy to get lost, but luckily Milo and Trevor was always in sight. Finally, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel led to cliff overlooking an ancient city. The city was surrounded by lush greenery, and appeared to be on a cliff that doubled as a waterfall.

Trevor and Milo were already there, faced off against the mysterious woman who was brandishing her spear at them. The woman started speaking to them in an unknown tongue; Milo recognized it immediately.

"It's Atlantean," the scholar said.

"That's impossible!" Lt. Sinclair said strolling up. "They would have been wiped out thousands of years ago."

The mysterious woman continued speaking in Atlantean.

"I think she's talking to you," Trevor said to Milo.

Milo hesitated for a bit, but then tried to converse with the woman. He tumbled over the words since he wasn't used to speaking the language out loud, but he managed to get his sentences coherent enough for the woman to know what he was talking about.

They continued to carry on their conversion in Atlantean when suddenly switched to Latin.

"Ita, sum amice viator, (Yes, I am a traveler, friend.)" Milo said.

"Dices linguam Romae, (That's the language of Rome.)" the woman responded.

"Parlez-vous francais? (Do you speak French?)" Milo said in French.

"Oui, monsieur! (Yes, mister.)" the woman said.

"How does she know all of these languages?" Audrey asked.

"Their language must be based on a root dialect. It's just like the Tower of Babel," Milo answered.

"Well, maybe English is in there somewhere," Rourke asserted himself. "We are explorers from the surface world," he said to the woman. "We come in peace."

The woman nodded and in perfect English she said, "Welcome to the city of Atlantis! Come you must speak with my father now! Both of you." She grabbed Milo and Trevor by the hand and started dragging them off to the city.

Lt. Sinclair pulled Rourke off to the side to have a little word with him. "Commander, there were not supposed to be people down here. This changes everything."

"This changes nothing," her commander assured her.

**KH-KH-KH**

The city of Atlantis was a grand place. Everyone was amazed that so many people, plants, and animals could survive down here. Both Milo and Trevor noticed that everyone had the same blue crystal necklace that mysterious woman had.

However, ever since they set foot in the city, Trevor was on edge. It was like all of his keyblade powers were fluxing inside of him. _'This city has a strange power,'_ he thought. _'It's overpowering; like it's trying to crush me.'_

They all arrived at the palace in the center of the city, where the elderly Atlantean king sat on his throne. Only Milo, Rourke, Lt. Sinclair, and Trevor were allowed to enter the palace along with the woman. The throne room was like nothing they have ever seen. The room was open with a reflecting pool instead of a floor. Several stepping stones were placed throughout the pool in various patterns.

The woman bowed before her king and spoke. "Greetings your Highness. I have brought the visitors," she said in Atlantean.

"You know the law Kida," the king said furiously in his native tongue. "No outsider may see the city and live."

"Father," Kida pleaded, "these people may be able to help us."

"We don't need their help."

"But father, one of them has the Key of Insight." All of the Atlanteans in the room then started talking in hushed whispers wondering if what Kida said was true.

"Is this true?" the king said in English. "Does one of you possess the Key of Insight?"

Trevor sighed and summoned his keyblade causing a massive uproar among the Atlanteans.

Com. Rourke took this as a good sign. "Your Majesty? On the behalf of my crew, may I say it is an honor to be welcomed to your city."

"Excuse me, commander," Milo coughed as he tried to warn Rourke.

"You presume too much to think you are welcome here," said the king. "Especially you," he pointed at Trevor. "As the keeper of the Key of Insight you should know the dangers of interfering with other people's affairs."

"Forgive me your Highness," Trevor said as he followed Kida's example and bowed on one knee. "I'm just trying to find a way to save this world from the darkness that plagues it." Suddenly the unexpected happen, the keyblade summoned itself. He tried to dismiss it, but it wouldn't go away.

While Trevor was trying to solve his keyblade problem, Rourke tried to make a plea for them to stay. "But sir, we have come a long way looking for¾"

"I know what you seek," the king interrupted him, "and you won't find it here. Your journey has been in vain."

"But we are peaceful explorers; men of science."

The king laughed at the commander's claim. "And yet you bring weapons."

"Our weapons allow us to remove any obstacle we may encounter."

"Some obstacles cannot be removed with a mere show of force. Return to your people and you, keeper of the Key of Insight, return to your world. All of you must leave Atlantis at once."

"We better do as he says," Milo warned Rourke.

"Then may I respectfully request that we stay one night, sir?" Rourke made an appeal to the king. "That would give us time to rest, re-supply, and be ready to travel by morning."

The king grabbed his staff and thought hard about Rourke's request. "Very well," he said that last. "One night; that is all."

"Well, thank you, your Majesty." The group turned to leave the palace leaving Kida alone with her father.

Kida sighed as she watched the outsiders leave; she had hoped that they could help her society.

"Your heart has softened Kida," her father said. "A thousand years ago you would have slain them on sight."

"A thousand years ago the streets were lit and our people didn't have to scavenge for food at the edge of a crumbling city," the princess retorted.

"The people are content."

"They don't know any better," Kida said frustrated. "We were once a great people and now we live in ruins. The kings of our past would weep if they could see how far we have fallen. If these outsiders can unlock the secrets of our past perhaps we can save our future."

"What they have to teach us we have already learned," the king warned.

"Our way of life is dying."

"Our way of life is preserved! Kida, when you take the throne you will understand."

Kida sighed and looked away. If she wants to save her people she would have to find the answers herself.

**KH-KH-KH**

"So, how did it go?" Dr. Sweet asked when Trevor, Milo, Rourke, and Helga returned from the palace.

"Well, the king and his daughter don't exactly see eye to eye," Milo explained the situation. "She seems to like us OK, but the king… I don't know, but I think he's trying to hide something."

"Well, if he's hiding something I want to know what it is," Rourke said making Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers suspicious.

"Let the Atlanteans have their secrets," Miranda suggested. "You guys have found the city, shouldn't that be enough?"

"We didn't travel all of this way for half-answered questions," Lt. Sinclair remarked. "And to find out those answers someone needs to talk to that girl," she smiled slyly to the commander.

"Maybe two people should talk to her," Rourke smiled to himself. "Someone who speaks their language and the other who carries a weapon that they revere."

Trevor sighed heavily. "I don't like the sound of this," he said to himself.

"Thanks for volunteering Thatch and Trevor," the commander said shocking Milo who wasn't paying attention.

"Go get her tiger," Audrey elbowed Milo as everyone turned to leave the two.

"Will you be okay?" Miranda questioned the keyblader.

"Yeah," Trevor tried to reassure the blonde cop. "I should be fine. But while me and Milo are gone I want you and Bonkers the see what Rourke's real intentions are. There's something about that guy I don't trust."

Miranda nodded and went to join the others.

When everyone left, Trevor turned to Milo. "What do we do now?"

"We walk up to the princess and say: 'Look, we have some questions for you and we're not leaving this city until they're answered.'"

Then Kida snuck up behind him, grabbed him and placed her hand over the scholar's mouth and said, "I have some questions for you and you are not leaving this city until they are answered."

"At least we are all on the same page," Trevor shook his head.

Kida released Milo. "Oh, there is so much to ask about your world. You are a scholar, are you not?" she was referencing to Milo. "Judging from your diminished physique and large forehead you are suited for nothing else." Then she turned to Trevor, "You are obviously a warrior though not one suited for the front lines. How do you get the Key of Insight?" Before Trevor could answer she started asking questions at random. "What is your country of origin? When did the flood waters recede? How did you-"

"Whoa, wait a minute," Milo stopped her. "I got some questions for you too. How about we ask our questions one at a time. When I answer one of yours, you answer one of mine."

"Very well," Kida smiled. "What is your first question?"

"Well," Milo began. "How did you get here? Well, I mean, not you personally, but your culture. I mean, how did all of this, this whole city, end up down here?"

"I personally would like to know the answer to that question as well," Trevor nodded.

"It is said that the gods became jealous of Atlantis," Kida began, "They sent a great cataclysm and banished us here. All I can remember is the sky growing dark and people running and shouting. Then there was a bright light, like a star, floating above the city. My father said it called my mother to it. I never saw her again."

"I'm sorry," Milo said empathically. "If it's any consolation I know how you feel, because I lost my parents when I was young."

"Whoa, whoa, time out!" Trevor interrupting the both of them. "We're missing the big picture or something got lost in translation, because you said you personally witnessed the sinking of this city."

"Yes, I did," the princess said matter-of-factly.

"But that is impossible," the keyblader exclaimed. "That would make you over eight thousand years old."

"Yes," Kida simply stated confused why this would be an issue.

Trevor and Milo looked at each other not knowing what to say. Trevor just put his hands behind his head, turned slightly away, and whistled.

"Oh, well, hey, uh, pfft! Looking good!" Milo finally said.

"…For someone your age…," Trevor added quietly to himself.

"Now for my question," Kida said, "How is it that all of you found your way to this place?"

"Well, it wasn't easy," Milo began as he pulled out the Shepherd's Journal. "If it weren't for this book, we would never have made it." Kido took the journal and started flipping through it with a look of confusion on her face. "Okay, next question," Milo clapped his hands. "Legends has it that your people possessed a power source of some kind that enabled them¾"

"You mean you can understand this?" Kida interrupted him.

"Yes, I'm a linguist. That's what I do, that's my job."

"This, right here," the princess pointed to the glyphs in the book. "You can read this?"

"Yes, yes, I can read Atlantean, just like you." Kida looked back at the journal with a puzzled look.

"You can't, can you?" Trevor deduced.

"No one can. Such knowledge was lost to us since the time of the Mehbelmok," Kida closed the book sadly.

Trevor looked at Milo for answers. "She means the Great Flood," the scholar answered.

"Show me," the princess gave the book back to Milo. Milo started reading a passage from the book and Kida translated it. "Follow the narrow passage for another league, there you will find the fifth marker."

"Yeah, yeah, that's it," Milo said excitedly. "How's my accent?"

"Boorish, provincial," Kida said truthfully, "and you speak it through your nose. Let me show you two something!" They ran up the side of the hill where an ancient looking machine, which was in the shape of a fish, was deposited and forgotten long ago.

"It looks like some sort of vehicle," Trevor said lightly kicking the strange machine.

"I have been trying to get this thing to work for years, but no matter what I tried it will not respond," Kida said.

"Well, let me see what I can do," Milo said as he began reading the machine inscriptions. "This machine seems to be power by that crystal that you wear around your neck. Have you placed your crystal in this slot?"

"Yes, yes. I have done that," Kida said pacing.

"Have you placed your hand on the inscription pad?"

"Yes."

"Turn the crystal one-quarter turn back?"

"Yes, yes."

"While you hand was on the inscription pad?"

"Ye¾ No," Kida realized. She followed Milo's instructions to the letter and the inscription pad glow the same brilliant blue as the crystal. The machine started to float in the air then took off, and finally crashed on the nearest wall.

"Well, at least it worked," Trevor said trying to look on the bright side of things.

Milo wanted to go through the wreck and salvage what he can for him to study later, but Kida grabbed his arm. "There is something else that I want you to translate," she said. "There is a mural with writing all around the pictures. It is not far from here."

The three of them traveled through the city in search of the mural that Kida was talking about. It gave Milo and Trevor to experience the sights and culture of the Atlanteans. Trevor was just relieved that he that there was no signs of Heartless so far. He remembered that Eddie stated that there were thousands of them on the surface which troubled him. However, what troubled him more were his keyblade powers. Twice going to the mural his keyblade summoned itself on its own accord; it was like it was beginning to have a mind of its own.

Finally they have arrived at the edge of the city. Sunken ruins of a lost temple sprawl over the water's surface like tiny islands. One could tell there is more beneath the surface.

"So the mural is somewhere down there I take it," Trevor grimaced, not liking the possibility that they would have to swim.

"We would have to swim far," Kida warned them. "You two know how to swim, do you not?" She removed an article of clothing so she was only in a tube top and bikini bottoms in preparation for swimming.

The scholar gawked a bit. "Oh, I swim pretty girl. Er, pretty good," he corrected himself. "I swim pretty good."

"You gotta watch those Freudian slips, Milo," Trevor teased, but he too was captivated by Kida's beauty. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his skull. He wondered if this was Hailey's way of telling him, 'You pig!' _'Like I can help it,'_ he thought. The pain in his head suddenly got worse.

All of them took a deep breath and dove in the deep water. The light from Kida's crystal was their only source of light. After passing through several crumbling archways and buildings they came across the mural the princess was talking about. It was a mosaic depicting the ancient armies of the world marching to the city of Atlantis. The bottom of the mural showed the Atlanteans raising their hands in reverence at what lies in the center of the mosaic. At the very center was a star shaped object that seemed to be giving its light to the Atlanteans. Trevor was the only one who noticed that at the center of the 'star' was the outline of a heart.

Milo began to read the glyphs of the mural but soon he was out of air and signed to Kida and Trevor to swim to a pocket of air that was trapped under a corner of a ceiling.

When they reached the pocket of air, Milo gasped and exciting told them of his findings. "This is amazing; a complete history of Atlantis! It's just like Plato described it! Well, he was off on a few details, but¾"

"The light I saw," Kida interrupted. "The star in the middle of the city; what does the writing say about that?"

"I don't know yet, but we're going to find out," Milo said with renewed vigor.

They completely submerge themselves in the water again and went to another part of the mural. Milo used Kida's crystal as an artificial lamp to read the various texts. After a few moments, he signal for them to head upwards back to the pocket of air.

"The Heart of Atlantis!" the scholar gasped when he caught his breath. "The star is the Heart of Atlantis. That's what the shepherd was talking about. It wasn't a star; it was some kind of crystal, like the one you have Kida. Don't you guys see? The power source I've been looking for, the bright light you remember, they're the same thing!"

"Could it be possible?" Trevor wondered out loud. "How could a floating crystal be a power source?"

"I don't know," Milo confessed, "but it is what's keeping all of these things," he held up Kida's crystal, "Kida, Atlantis, and perhaps the entire world alive."

A disturbing thought entered Trevor's mind. _'If it gives life to the entire world, could the Heart of Atlantis in actuality be__¾__'_

Kida interrupted his train of thought. "But where is it now?"

"I don't know, I don't know," Milo said. "You'd think something this important would have been in the Journal, but¾ Unless,…" The scholar put two and two together. "The missing page. The missing information must be on that page."

"What do we do now?" Trevor asked. He now wanted to see the Heart of Atlantis to see if his suspicions are true; but he hoped they weren't.

"We need to go back to the city and look through the journal again," Milo suggested. "Maybe there was some detail that I missed that will lead us to the Heart of Atlantis location."

Kida and Trevor agreed that this was a good plan. The three took breaths and then swim for the surface.

As the three of them broke the water's surface they were violently pulled out of the water. It was Com. Rourke's soldiers who restrained them and forced to them to their knees (except for Kida who was, unsuccessfully, putting up a fight and cursing her captors in Atlantean.). Trevor looked up and saw Rourke, Helga, Vinny, Mole, Audrey, and Dr. Sweet all holding riffles ready to use them. He tried to summon his keyblade, but it wouldn't respond. Trevor cursed his luck glaring at the commander with hateful eyes.

"I see you boys found what we have been looking for," Rourke mocked as he swatted a piece of paper he had in his hand.

"What have you done with Miranda and Bonkers?" the keyblader demanded.

Sinclair snapped her fingers and two of the soldiers threw Miranda and Bonkers in the line of Trevor's vision. Both cops were bound and gagged; struggling to get free.

"These two put up quite a fight," Lt. Sinclair sneered, "but I was able to subdue them."

"I'm such an idiot," Milo cursed himself. "This is just another treasure hunt for all of you. You're after the crystal."

"Oh, you mean this," the commander unfolded the piece of paper in his hands and showed it to the scholar.

"The missing page about the Heart of Atlantis."

"Yeah, I would have told you sooner, but it was on strictly need-to-know basis," Rourke joked, "and, well, now you guys know. I had to be sure if you two were one of us. I don't know about you," he was referring to Trevor, "but welcome to the club son." He extended his hand toward Milo, but the scholar swatted it away.

"I'm no mercenary," Milo protested.

"Mercenary?" Rourke laughed to himself. "I prefer the term 'adventure capitalist.' Besides, you're the one who got us here; you're the one who led us to the treasure chest."

"You don't know the forces you are planning to tamper with!" Trevor yelled as he tried to free himself from the grip of the soldiers. The soldiers only held him tighter and roughly slammed him to the ground.

"What's to know?" the commander rolled his eyes, "It's big, it's shiny; it's going to make us all rich."

"You think it's some sort of diamond, I thought it was some sort of battery, but we're both wrong," Milo tired to explain. "It's their live force. That crystal is the only thing that's keeping them alive. You take that away and they'll die!"

"It's more than that," Trevor added. "The Heart of Atlantis might be the very heart of this world. If it were to fall into the wrong hands the cataclysm that this world will have will make the sinking of Atlantis look like a picnic!"

The commander rolled his eyes. "Well, that changes things… Lieutenant, what do you think?"

Helga smirked, "Knowing that, I'd double the price."

"I was thinking triple," Rourke smiled a loathsome smile.

"Rourke, you can't do this," Milo protested once more.

"You academics never like getting your hands dirty," Rourke waved off the scholar's concern. "Think about it, if you gave back every stolen artifact from a museum you'll be left with an empty building. We're just providing a necessary service to the archeological community."

What Rourke said reminded Trevor of a joke he heard long ago: If you dig up a grave in your own country it's grave robbing, but if you do it in another country it's archaeology.

"I'm not interested," Milo said, standing his ground.

The commander rubbed his chin, "I got to admit, I'm disappointed. I really hate when negotiations go sour." He snapped his fingers and one of the soldiers pointed a gun to Kida's head, ready to pull the trigger. "Now let's try this again," Rourke held the missing page in front of the scholar's face knowing that Milo will do anything for the princess's safety.

An explosion was set off in the palace. The huge hand-carved doors that led to the throne room were torn asunder and black smoke poured into the room.

"Knock, knock," Vinny said proud of his handiwork.

The Atlantean guards prepare for battle, but Lt. Sinclair showed them that the princess was her captive. "Tell them to drop their weapons," she yelled at the king. "Tell them or I will kill her," she pointed her gun at Kida's head. The Atlantean king did as he was commanded and his guards put their spears on the floor. "Spread out and search everywhere!" she ordered her soldiers. Several men entered the throne and started tearing it apart looking for the Heart of Atlantis.

After failing to find anything, Rourke grabbed Milo and shook him a bit. "You're not applying yourself son. There's got to be something else written in the book!"

"Well, there isn't," Milo huffed. "It just says 'The Heart of Atlantis lies within the eyes of her king.'"

"Maybe Old King Cole here can help us fill in the blanks," the commander as he strode up to the king. "How about it chief? Where is the crystal chamber?"

"You will destroy yourselves," the chief warned.

"Maybe I'm not making myself clear." Rourke punched the king deep in the gut, causing the ancient man to double over in pain and fall to the floor.

Dr. Sweet rushed over to the king and carefully examined him. "Rourke, this was not part of the plan," he said with disgust.

"Plan's changed, doc," the commander said as he sat on the throne. "I'd suggest you put a bandage on that bleeding heart of yours; it doesn't suit a mercenary." From the throne, Rourke saw that the stepping stones in the reflecting pool were arranged in a pattern of a glyph that looks like an eye. The king moaned when he saw the look of realization on Rourke's face. "Very clever," Com. Rourke laughed. "I've found it, we're in!"

"Rourke, you gotta listen to me," Trevor begged. "You have no idea what this power is capable of."

"No, but I think of a few countries who are willing to pay anything to find out," Helga laughed as she pushed Trevor, Milo, and Kida in the center of the reflecting pool along with Rourke and Vinny.

Slowing the floor beneath began to sink revealing a hidden chamber beneath the palace. As the pedestal sank they saw a giant bright blue orb floating in the chamber surrounded by nine colossal carved masks. The crystal orb and the mask were floating above an underground lake some hundreds of feet in the air.

Trevor instantly knew what the crystal was actually was when he laid eyes on it. "The heart of the world," the keyblader whispered to himself.

When the pedestal stopped moving Kida cried, "The kings of our past!" She immediately got on her hands and knees to pray to her ancestors in Atlantean.

Rourke rolled his eyes, "Thatch, tell her to wrap it up."

As Milo tried to comfort Kido, Trevor's keyblade summoned itself near its owner and started vibrating violently.

The commander pulled out his gun and pointed at Trevor. "Watch yourself kid," he warned. "Remember what I said: 'A bullet is faster than a blade.'"

"I can't control it," Trevor exclaimed, "it's like it has a mind of its own!"

"That's what he said," Vinny joked hoping to lighten the mood.

The keyblader rolled his eyes. "The Atlanteans must of have alter the heart of the world in such a way that it interferes with my keyblade powers. That thing up there needs to be locked and stored away in the world's keyhole so it can be protected!"

"No one is going to do anything!" Milo protested.

"No, we're going to get it down!" Rourke yelled.

The Heart of Atlantis began to glow a violent red and produced several rays of light as if scanning the area. Soon, all of the rays of light focused on Kida who went into a trance like state. Her eyes glowed white and in Atlantean she said, "All will be well, Milo Thatch. Be not afraid." The princess then began to walk on water, slowly making her way to the center of the lake. When she was directly below the heart, she started to float upwards until she was completely inside the giant crystal. The crystal heart spun rapidly until it was in the shape of a woman. The woman entity floated down to the lake and started walking toward the group. The colossal masks dropped into the lake below causing huge waves, but they failed to affect the crystal being.

Some time later, Rourke's soldiers managed to get the crystal entity in a large steel container and filled it up with liquid nitrogen to stabilize the being. Dr. Sweet stayed behind with Milo, Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers to take care of the king. Vinny, Audrey, and Mole, however, went with Rourke and Sinclair in hopes of collecting their money.

"So, I guess this is how it ends," Milo spat as he watched the soldiers load the container in a truck. "You'll be wiping out an entire civilization, but hey, you'll be rich."

"You can't take her to the surface," Trevor warned though he knew his warning will fall on deaf ears. "The surface of the world is crawling with Heartless. If one of them gets its hands on her you can kiss your world goodbye!"

"They don't care about anything," Milo huffed as he stared at Audrey, Vinny, and Mole with disappointment. "It's all about the money for them."

"Get off your soapbox, Thatch," Rourke rolled his eyes. "You read Darwin; it's called natural selection. We're just helping it along. Look at it this way; you're the man who discovered Atlantis and now you are part of the exhibit."

"Commander, we're ready," Sinclair announced.

"Let's move people," Rourke called out as he jumped in a truck.

"That was a command, not a suggestion people," Sinclair barked. "Let's go!"

Before the vehicles could leave, Audrey, Vinny, and Mole got out of the vehicles and stood along side Milo, Trevor, Bonkers, Miranda, and the Atlanteans.

"Oh, you can't be serious," Rourke looked back.

"This is wrong and you know it!" Audrey yelled.

"We've done a lot of things that we're not proud of," Vinny stated. "Robbing graves, plundering tombs, double parking…but nobody got hurt. Well, maybe somebody got hurt…but nobody we knew."

"P.T. Barnum was right," the commander growled under his breath. "Fine, more money for me," he called out as he and his caravan of trucks drove away. When all of the trucks crossed the bridge that leaves Atlantis, Rourke pressed a button and several explosives detonate destroying the bridge.

Everyone watched as Rourke got away with his plan. Slowly the people's crystals ceased to glow and all of the water in the city stopped flowing.

As Trevor was trying to formulate a plan to save Atlantis, they heard Dr. Sweet's voice. "Milo, everyone, come quick!" he yelled. "It's the king!"

Everyone rushed into the palace fearing the worse. When they arrived they found out that their fears were being realized. The king lay on his throne dying; Rourke's punch damaged him more than they originally thought. Trevor and Bonkers tried some healing spells, but they seem to have no effect.

"He's not doing well," Dr. Sweet said, "Internal bleeding. There's nothing more that I can do."

"Where is my daughter?" the king coughed.

Milo tried to answer, but couldn't find the right choice of words.

The king understood what the scholar was trying to say. "She has been chosen like her mother before her. In times of danger the crystal will choose a host, one of royal blood to protect itself and its people; it will accept no other."

"Wait a minute, choose?" Milo questioned. "You make it sound like it is alive."

"In a way," the king nodded. "As the keeper of the 'Key of Insight' probably already knows, the crystal was once the heart of the world; the very lifeblood of this entire world. We Atlanteans sought to control its power. Long ago, by using the Key of Insight to infuse our essence, our souls, into the heart, the heart began to serve us and us alone. It provided power, longevity, and protection to us Atlanteans. As it grew, it developed a consciousness of its own. In my arrogance, I sought to use it as a weapon of war, but its power proved too great to control. It overwhelmed us and led to our destruction."

"So that's what happen," Trevor rolled over what the king has told us in his mind. "That's why my keyblade was acting crazy, because of what the Atlanteans did to the heart of the world. It was altered so much that my keyblade didn't knew if the crystal was the heart of the world or something else entirely."

"So you hid the crystal behind the city," Milo said in realization, "to keep history from repeating itself."

"And to prevent Kida from suffering the same fate as my beloved wife."

"What did you mean?" Milo was trying to understand, "What's going to happen to Kida?"

"If she remains bonded to the crystal she could be lost to it forever. The love of my daughter is all that I have left. My burden would have become hers when that time is right, but now it falls to you Milo Thatch." The king took off his crystal necklace and gave it to the scholar who humbly accepted it. "Return the crystal. Save Atlantis. Save my daughter." With that, the king breathes his last. They could hear a horn in the distance signaling the king's death to the people of Atlantis.

Dr. Sweet took in a deep breath as he put away his medical tools. "So, what's it going to be?" he asked Milo. "I followed you in, and I'll follow you out. It's your decision."

"My decision?" Milo said overwhelmed. "I think we know how effective my decisions are. Let's recap: I led vandals to the greatest archaeological find in history, which led to the kidnapped and/or murder of the royal family, not to mention personally delivering the most powerful force known to man in the hands of a mercenary nutcase who's probably going to sell it to the Kaiser! Have I left anything out?"

"It's my experience," Dr. Sweet said sympathetically, "that when you hit bottom, the only place left to go is up. A fella by the name of Thaddeus Thatch told me that."

Milo smiled remembering his grandfather as he looked at the king's crystal.

"We can't just sit around and do nothing Milo," Trevor said.

"No, no we can't," Milo said as he got up. "We'll bring the fight to Rourke."

Milo ran out of the palace and showed every able-bodied people how to work the ancient flying machines. Milo was in a machine that looked like a hammerhead shark, Trevor was in one that looked like mako shark, Miranda was in a sun fish one, and Bonkers was in one that was in the shape of a crab and could only travel sideways for some reason.

"All right, this is it!" Milo yelled at his impromptu army. "We're going to rescue the princess and save Atlantis or we're going to die trying! Now let's do it!" With that, the army sped after Rourke and his caravan of trucks.

"Okay, here the plan," Milo yelled. "We come in low and fast and take them by surprise."

"Well, I got news for you, Milo," Audrey said. "Rourke is never surprised and he's got a lot of guns."

"Great, do you have any suggestions?" Milo yelled back.

"Yeah," Vinny answered. "Don't get shot!"

Milo's crew quickly got up with Rourke's. The commander already blasted a hole through the top of the volcano shaft, loaded the iron container with the Heart of Atlantis on a huge zeppelin. Milo and the Atlanteans tried to overwhelm the soldiers, but Rourke was ready for them. He had the soldiers pulled out the small portable airplanes, large enough for one man to pilot. The soldiers piloted the planes and began to shoot down the Atlantean machines.

"You told me he only had guns!" Milo yelled at Audrey.

"What I said was that he's never surprised," the mechanic yelled back.

An intense aerial battle began with each side holding there own. Trevor feared that they were going to be too late as he watched the zeppelin travel up the shaft. He tried to shoot it down, but every time he tried to get close to it, one of Rourke's airplanes would fire at him.

Meanwhile, Rourke and Sinclair were on the zeppelin desperately wanting to get to the surface.

"We can go faster if we lighten the load," Sinclair said.

"Ladies first," Rourke devilishly said as he push the lieutenant off of the zeppelin. "It's nothing personal!"

Trevor watched in horror as the lieutenant fell. Then all of a sudden the area grew darker. He looked up and saw that the shaft somehow has closed itself off. The only lights that remain at the top of the shaft were thousands of tiny yellow lights he thought were fireflies. Then it seemed to him that the darkness at the top was moving and morphing along with the yellow lights. Much to his horror he realized that the darkness was thousands of Heartless crawling their way down the shaft and the yellow lights were their eyes. All of this time the Heartless were digging their way deep down the earth in search for the heart of the world to feed their insufferable hunger.

The keyblader knew that if any one of the Heartless get their hands on the crystal, all hope will be lost. "The Heartless are here!" he tried to warn everybody. "The Heartless are about to attack!"

It seemed that no one is listening to the keyblader and why would they; they didn't know what a Heartless was. Suddenly, several huge shadows swooped down and took out some of the airplanes and Atlantean vehicles. The shadows were giant Heartless that resembled bats. They had sharp talons like a falcon, were the size of a small whale, and a huge underbite like a bulldog that showed off its enormous fangs.

The Heartless were destroying any flying machine that got in their way indiscriminately. Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda opened fire on them and managed to destroy one, but the Heartless were too fast for them. One of the dark creature let out an ear-piercing shriek as it called out to its own kind. A moment later, a whole swarm of aerial Heartless of every shape and size flew down the shaft, attacking everything in sight.

A couple of raven-like Heartless were picking at the iron crate that house the crystal. "No you don't," Milo yelled as he fired upon the bird Heartless. The Heartless screech and flew away. Milo then jumped from his vehicle and landed on the zeppelin's gondola deck where Rourke was waiting for him.

The commander punched Milo on the jaw. "Normally, I'm a hard man to tick off, but congratulations! You won the solid-gold kewpie doll!"

Lt. Sinclair was in great pain after falling several hundreds of feet. She was amazed that she was alive, though she knew it wouldn't be for long. She used her remaining strength to turn herself upwards. She gazed up at the chaos above her and grabbed the signal flare at her hip aiming for the zeppelin that Rourke was on. "Nothing personal…," she coughed and with her last ounce of life she pulled the trigger. The flare flew straight into the air like a giant fireball and struck the side of the zeppelin causing a massive explosion that engulfed a lot of the Heartless.

The zeppelin was quickly losing attitude and Rourke had enough with the interlopers. He grabbed an axe and tried to hit Milo with it, but the scholar quickly dodged. Before the commander could attack again, Trevor jumped from his vehicle, landed on the deck, and used his keyblade to block Rourke's attack.

"I'm getting tired of you too," Rourke yelled as he kicked the keyblader down to the ground. Before the commander could attack again, Trevor used a _Thunder_ spell which caused Rourke to stumble backwards. The axe struck the glass window of the steel container causing the glass to shatter everywhere.

Milo grabbed one of the glass pieces that had some liquid nitrogen on it that was infused with the crystal's power. While Trevor was distracting Rourke, Milo ran up behind the commander and cut him with the glass piece. Rourke's body started to harden and crystallize as he slowly turned into a frozen statue. Trevor fired a _Firaga_ spell at the commander and he burst into thousands of frozen pieces.

The zeppelin crashed heavily on the ground and knocked Milo, Trevor, and the steel container several feet from the crash site.

"Are you all right?" Miranda yelled as she circled the area.

Trevor helped Milo up and gave her the a-okay sign.

Then the ground started the rumble and large fissures started to appear.

"The volcano, she's awakes!" Mole warned them.

"Quick, tie the container to one of the machines!" Milo ordered as he hooked a chain to the crate. "If we don't, the city will die!"

"And if we don't get out of here, we will die!" Audrey yelled, but grabbed the other end of the chain and tied it to the back of her vehicle. Magma started to burst through the ground as Milo and Trevor climbed aboard Audrey's machine. "Go, go!" the scholar ordered not wanting to be cooked alive.

Milo and the others raced down the series of tunnels as a wall of molten rock chased after them. The Heartless tried to escape with others, but they were caught up with the eruption and were destroyed.

The Atlanteans made it back to city with the crystal and the princess, but they were far from safe.

"The fissure, it is about to eject its pyroclastic fury!" Mole yelled.

They set the steel crate containing the crystal down in the city's center and it burst open on its own accord. The pieces of the crate were floating around the humanoid crystal like planets do the sun. The crystal lifted its arms up and the whole city started to glow. The nine colossal masks from the hidden chamber came out of the ground, destroying the city's center, and started flowing around the crystal. The crystal and the masks floated high in the air and began to spin rapidly. The Heart of Atlantis fired several beams of energy at numerous statues that surrounded the city. Each statue stood up and their true height was known. Each was taller than an office building and they traveled to the edge of the city. The magma was beginning to break through from the tunnels and projectiles of chunks of rock were entering the city. The statues spread out their arms to protect the city like the golem of legends. Each statue formed a force field which joined with the others creating a protective barrier that surrounded the entire city. The lava erupted from the tunnels and covered the force field. After a few moments, the magma slowly hardened and gave way to the force field; Atlantis was saved!

The crystal continued the hover above the city as Trevor lifted his keyblade. "I hope this works," he said to nobody in particular. A beam of light shot from the keyblade and hit the crystal causing a massive keyhole to appear in the sky. Out of the keyhole Kida gently floated down from sky; Milo ran over to catch her. The keyblader fired another beam of light to lock the keyhole. The crystal/the-heart-of-the-world started to glow again and the masks produced a force field surrounding the crystal to protect it from the darkness.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to come with us?" Dr. Sweet said to Milo, Trevor, Bonkers, and Miranda.

"No thanks," Trevor said. "Us three are still on our journey. We already have a ride."

"I can't go either," Milo said. "Besides, I heard there's an opening down here for an expert in gibberish."

"Atlantis will honor your names forever," Kida said giving each one of the outsiders a crystal necklace, making them honorary Atlanteans. "I just wish there is more that we can do for you."

"Thanks, but I think you already got that covered," Vinny said as he watched the Atlanteans load the machine that will take them home with gold, jewels, and other valuables.

"Speaking of which," Milo said handing over a hardcover book to the keyblader. "Trevor, I want to give you this book. It's strange; it was found at an archaeological site in England, but it talks about modern technology. At first I thought it was a link to Atlantis and the Shepherd's Journal, but I was wrong. There's a few pages missing, but it's still an intriguing find."

"Thank you," Trevor accepted the gift. "_The Railway Series_," he read the book's title.

"We are really going to miss you guys," Audrey said.

"Take care of yourselves," Dr. Sweet nodded.

"Let's take one last picture before leaving," Vinny suggested. "So when we become old and feeble, we can look at the picture and say: 'Who is that guy?'"

Everyone huddled together in front of a timer camera with the city of Atlantis as a backdrop.

"Everybody, say 'Gochk,'" Milo said.

"Gochk!" The picture was taken and the memories stayed with them forever.

**KH-KH-KH**

On the world Disney Castle, a portal of light opened up on the corner of Main Street. Kairi stepped out of the portal and got a good look of her surrounding. She saw the castle in the distance and knew where she was.

"This must the world Disney Castle," she said to herself. "It's just like what Sora described it."

The princess of heart found to streets oddly quiet, as if they were recently abandoned. Shops had 'We're Open' signs even though there was no one in them. Picnic tables had half-eaten food on them. There was even a payphone with its phone off the hook, swinging gently with the wind.

A tumbleweed comically tumbled across screen and rolled over Kairi's feet.

Kairi didn't like the silent; she sets off to find someone. She ran up and down the streets, but there was no sign of life.

'_Where is everyone?'_ she thought. _'There's got to be somebody here.'_

She was about to give up when she heard a voice from behind her. "Halt!" the voice commanded. The princess turned around and saw a whole group of soldiers, made up of a menagerie of animals, marching toward her.

"What are you doing here?" the head soldier, who was a skinny duck, ordered her. "And why are you not at the coronation?"

"I-I didn't know…," Kairi said flabbergasted. "The coronation of whom? Isn't Mickey already the king?"

Some of the soldier staggered back, but the head soldier stood his ground. "Are you saying that you are associated with Mickey?" he asked.

"Uh, … Yes?"

"Arrest her!" the soldier yelled and several soldiers rushed over and grabbed her. "You are charged with espionage, human! Take her to the jail!"

The soldiers began to drag Kairi away, who was struggling for her release. "Let go of me!" she demanded. "What's going on? What happened to King Mickey? Somebody tell me!"

**Next Chapter: ¡Viva la Revolución!**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Milo Thatch: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Commander Rourke: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Lt. Helga Sinclair: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Dr. Joshua Sweet: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Audrey: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Molier "Mole": Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Vinny: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Kida: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)

Atlantean King: Atlantis: the Lost Empire(2001)


	29. ¡Viva la Revolución!

**Author's Notes: Whew! I finally got this chapter done! Sorry it took me so long to update, I know wondering what has happened to Kairi and Disney Castle is probably killing you. Anyway, on with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 28: ¡Viva la Revolución!**

_A few days ago…_

It was the quietest prison breakout ever. Ienzo cast _Sleepra_ on the soldiers that were guarding his cell. As the guards lay on the grimy floor passed out, the former Nobody went to work on the lock. He summoned the lexicon he used as a Nobody, the Cursed Manual, and flipped through the pages searching for the right spell. Once he found the spell, he placed his left hand over the lock and whispered the incantation. His cell door flew open and Ienzo was free again.

Ienzo dismissed his lexicon and causally walked down the prison corridor. He was amazed that he still has his Nobody powers even though he has his heart now. The orphan wondered if he should still be called by his Nobody name, Zexion. He stopped for a half a second to consider this, but then waved it off knowing that it doesn't matter; Zexion is as good as a name as Ienzo.

The former apprentice was determined to find out what was causing the strange fluxes of energy he felt some time ago. _'The energy signatures feel exactly like Lexaeus and Axel,'_ he thought. _'Could it be possible that Lea and Aeleus have return just like I have?'_ It personally stunned him that other members of Organization XIII could have returned. There was no telling what would happen if other members of the Organization start reappearing. The only way to find out if this was true was to investigate the matter himself.

He silently passed Flicker's cell and then stopped as if he was waiting for something to happen. "Are you going to stop me?" he said to the dragon, never looking at the cell, but straight ahead.

Flicker never looked up to acknowledge the escapee. The green dragon at last sighed and closed his eyes. "Do as you wish…," he said at last.

"You could come with me," Ienzo/Zexion offered. "Your inventing skills are most impressive. If things were different, there is no doubt that you could have been one of Ansem's apprentices."

"Ah, but if I had I would have been a part of Xemnas' Organization just like you were," there was a mixture of amusement and distain in the dragon's voice. "Are you leaving to help Xehanort? Are you going back to your master like a loyal lapdog?"

A small flash of anger spark within the silent scientist's eyes. If it could be help he wants nothing to do with Xehanort. And yet… He cannot deny that if Xehanort offer something advantageous to him, he might take the deal. It's his nature to be opportunistic and he silently cursed that part of him. _'I will cross that bridge when I get to it,'_ he thought to himself.

Using his magic, the former Nobody unlocked Flicker's cell door. The dragon looked up inquisitively at Ienzo, but the scientist continued on his way.

"Do as _you_ wish," Ienzo called out not turning back to learn his fellow inmate's decision.

Along the way he found the storage room that contain his personal effects that Rufus Shinra confiscated from him. He put on his white lab coat and instantly felt more like himself. Once he collected all of his items he thought of all the possible area he could investigate; the place where he had lost his heart years ago seemed like a good place to start; Ansem's research lab. He stretched out his arm and opened a corridor of darkness. Ienzo quickly grew faint; it has been some time since he used the full extent of his powers. He was the weakest member of the now disbanded Organization XIII, so it wasn't a surprise when he became lightheaded. The scientist leaned against the wall for a quick reprieve and then slowly entered the portal.

**KH-KH-KH**

_The present_

Kairi was tossed into a windowless, dark cell that was in the basement of a police station on the world _Disney Castle_. The two dog soldiers who tossed her in there seemed satisfied with their work and locked the cell without any emotion. The keyblader sprang to her feet, summoned her keyblade, and hit the cell's door. The princess' weapon just bounced off the gate as if it was made from rubber. A magic barrier surrounding the bars of the cell shimmered in the darkness for a split second.

One of the soldiers laughed at the keyblader. It was the skinny duck soldier that had her arrested for reasons unbeknownst to her. From the waist up the duck was covered in tight-fitting grey armor, with the exception of his right arm which was bare. He wore a helmet with a red plume on top, which (to Kairi's guess) means the water fowl was an officer of some kind. The visor on his helmet was always down, so the keyblader never saw his eyes. A sheathed short sword hanged from the left side of his waist. The duck had his right hand on the pummel of his sword just in case his prisoner attempts to cause trouble.

"Hit that door all you want, human," the duck soldier spat, his voice was surprisingly gravelly. "This jail has been enchanted by some of our most powerful magicians. You have no hope of escape, not even with that keyblade of yours."

"You can't do this!" Kairi ran up to the bars and tried to shake them, but failed. Never before has she been this irritated and frustrated in her life. She did not expect this from _Disney Castle_; not the home of King Mickey. "When King Mickey finds out¾"

"Mickey ain't the king anymore," the duck hissed. "We don't need a king like him; one who forsakes his own people! When he comes back to this world he will be arrested and tried like the traitor he is!"

"You're the traitor!" Kairi was fighting back tears. "Do you know how many times he helped save the universe?"

"Does it look like I care, sweetheart?" the duck laughed. "Besides, we have a new king; a king that will attend to the affairs of this world and this world alone." He stepped forward as that his face so only mere centimeters away from the keyblader's with only the bars to separate them. "You know," he whispered, "if your keyblader friends Sora and Riku ever set foot in this world, the new king will kill them. As for you…well…," the duck caressed Kairi's chin. "I believe the king like his women in French maid outfits."

In a fit of rage, Kairi launched her arms forward in an attempt to grab and ring the duck's neck. However, her prey eluded her as the solider leapt backwards, out of her reach.

The duck laughed and so did his fellow soldiers. "Have fun down here, keyblader!" he called out as he and his men ascended the stairs, out of her sight.

Seconds later, she heard a door slam shut and all light in the cellblock vanished, expect for a small dying light on the far corner of the cellblock. Kairi threw her keyblade down in frustration and fell to the floor sobbing; the weapon was useless to her now. The keyblade dismissed itself after a while, sensing that it was no longer wanted. She tried to stop crying, but couldn't find the strength to. Lying on that dirty floor the redhead couldn't help but feel weak.

'_Even after all I have been though, I'll still not strong enough,'_ she thought. Kairi knew she should have been more prepared; that she should have expected the unexpected.

She straightened herself up and wiped her eyes. Now wasn't the time for self-pity, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. _'Sora, Riku, Mickey,… everyone…. I have failed you…'_

"It is so disheartening to see one of the Princesses of Heart in such a state."

Kairi gasped; she was not alone.

The voice sent a chill down her spine. She knew who it was and it frighten her. The keyblader slowly turned around and to her surprise, she saw Pete.

He was wearing the same outfit as he was when Sora last faced him. Pete was carefully holding a glass orb that had a sea of green fire within it. The flames twisted and turned until forming into the green face of a certain dark enchantress.

"Maleficent….," Kairi whispered in fear.

"So we meet again, Kairi, Princess of Heart," Maleficent's slight smile was distorted in the orb.

"What are you doing here?" she summoned her keyblade and backed all the way to the bars. "What are the both of you doing here?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" Pete huffed. "We're trapped in here just like you."

Kairi's mind did a one-eighty. For a second there, she thought that Pete and Maleficent were here to kidnapped or kill her. "You two are prisoners? Like me?"

"I'm not encased in this orb for my own amusement, child," Maleficent said sharply. "The new ruler of this world and his lackey imprisoned me in this wretched sphere!"

The keyblader groaned. _'Who was powerful enough to take over this world and imprison Maleficent?' _she wondered. "Who was it?" she asked. "Who took over this world?"

Pete clicked his tongue in disgust and looked away for a moment before answering. "Mortimer and Zeke," he grunted.

Kairi blinked. "Who are they? They must be very powerful."

The cat released a quick guttural laugh. "Ha! Those two? On their own they are next to useless, but some idiot gave them the power of the keyblade! We were about to take over this world and the data worlds, but Mickey and that fool Axel stopped us. They drove us from this world. But as soon as the king and his friends left this world to check up on something, me and Maleficent returned to take over the operation. It seems that Mortimer and Zeke had the same idea. They caught us by surprise and next thing you know we end up here."

"The fools caught _you_ by surprise," the dark enchantress insisted. "I was but a mere victim of your bumbling."

"I still don't understand," the redhead was trying to put the pieces together, but to no avail. "Who are Mortimer and Zeke? Why do they want to usurp the crown?"

Pete laughed a bit as if Kairi had told a joke, but then he saw her look of confusion. "You don't know their story at all do ya kid?" The keyblader shook her head. The large cat scratched his chin. "I suppose that makes sense… They were exiled from this world so long ago; you probably weren't even born yet."

"So they were exiled, like you were?" Kairi asked flatly.

Pete got all worked up and almost dropped the orb, but quickly caught it again in his hands. "I wasn't in exile….per se… I was merely put in holding in another dimension. It is, until ol' Maleficent busted me out."

"Just tell the girl the tale already, you fool!" Maleficent bellowed impatiently. She too wanted to hear the story. _'Such knowledge could be useful when I plot my revenge,'_ the enchantress slyly thought.

"Alright, alright," grumbled Pete. "There's no need to get pushy."

The big cat quickly collected himself and sat down on a rickety old bench that also served as a makeshift bed.

Pete began his told. "You see, long, long ago, before Mickey was king, the kingdom was ruled by our princess, Minnie."

Kairi was shocked beyond belief. "Minnie ruled before Mickey?"

"Yes, now don't interrupt!" Pete huffed. "You made me lose my place… Oh, now I remember! Protecting her and the kingdom were the Royal Musketeers; the precursor to the Royal Knights. I was the captain of the musketeers, Clarabelle Cow was my lieutenant; though, now I wonder why… But the important thing to remember is that Zeke was my second lieutenant.

"Now, I'm going to put it out here: I tried to become king. However, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, the newest of the musketeers were my undoing. The details of that event are not important, but as a result Goofy replaced me as captain and Mickey fell in love in Minnie.

"But not everyone was happy about this budding romance. Mortimer, who was an earl at that time, also had his eyes on Princess Minnie. He tried every trick in the book to break up the two love birds, but they all failed and exploded in his face.

"Mickey and Minnie were growing tired of Mortimer's misconduct, so they devise a plan. At that time, the far away city of Duckburg needed a duke. The obvious choice was Scrooge McDuck, but he's richest person on this world and they didn't want to give him more power. The next candidate was Flintheart Glomgold, but that was a far worse choice. Mickey and Minnie decided to kill two birds with one stone; Mortimer was to become the Duke of Duckburg and he will be far away from the castle to disturbed the princess and Mickey.

"At first, Mortimer was ecstatic. He went from an earl to a duke; a no easy feat. But when he realized that means he would be separate from Princess Minnie he was furious; even more so when he found out that she and Mickey were engaged. So he decided to stage a coup d'état, but to do this he will need help. Mortimer enlisted Zeke's help to pull it off.

"It was on the wedding day the both of them started the coup, but in the end of the day, Mickey succeeded and he banished Mortimer and Zeke from the world. And that was the whole kit and caboodle," the large cat summed up.

Kairi thought about the story for awhile. It explained why Zeke and Mortimer wants revenge on Mickey and his friends, but it didn't explain one important detail. "How did they become keybladers?"

"Heck if I should know," huffed Pete.

'_This could be trouble,'_ Kairi thought to herself. "Why the soldiers let this happen? And where is King Mickey anyway?"

Pete snorted and shook his head. "That pipsqueak of a king is probably with Yen Sid or something, cooking up another way to 'save the universe' or something like that. As for how Mortimer and Zeke conquer this world so easily, the answer's simple. The people are tired of Mickey wanderin' around the universe instead of attending to the affairs of this world. The people want a king that they can count on and for the past few years, the king seemed to have the fate of other worlds on his mind."

This was disturbing to Kairi. She needs to stop Mortimer before he poisons any more minds about Mickey's loyalty to this world. "I have to find a way out of here," she said determined. The redhead was scared about the upcoming battle, but it was something that she would have to face.

"And how would you accomplish this feat?" Maleficent mused. "It would be amusing to see a maiden of the purest heart fail miserably."

"Says the woman trapped in an orb," Kairi retorted hastily.

The enchantress' eyes narrow and the flames in the orb turned a bright, furious red. "Do you know who I am?" she bellowed. "I AM THE ENCHANTRESS OF THE NIGHT! MY POWER IS ALL-ENCOMPASSING AND HAS NO LIMITS! I'M¾"

"If you are so powerful then free yourself and your lackey!" the princess of heart spat. She grew tired of the dark sorceress.

Maleficent stared at Kairi with intense hatred. She didn't say a word, knowing that if she does she would only contradict herself.

Kairi collected herself and tried to calm down; after her ordeal this was no easy feat. "I hate to say this," she said after a few moments, "but I need your help. We both need each other's help." She rubbed her temples to collect her thoughts. Kairi couldn't believe that she was asking her former captor for help. "Do you have any powers left; something that will of use to us?"

The flames in the orb lessen and became green again. Maleficent turned slightly to the right as she was in deep thought. "Perhaps there is a way…," she said after a moment. "Even though our powers are useless in our certain state, there is a small chance that we may be able to contact someone. I have just enough power for you to send a message to two people. Choose wisely, princess of heart."

Kairi thought about the whole host of options that lay before her. She desperately wanted to contact Sora and Riku, but they were busying with their Mark of Mastery with Yen Sid. The obvious choice would be to contact King Mickey, but he was helping Yen Sid overseeing their friends' Mark of Mastery. There were only two people that she could call.

"Then help me sent a message to Trevor and Cynthia," Kairi requested.

"Is that a wise choice?" Maleficent asked.

"I don't want to bother the king while he's overseeing Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery. With Trevor and Cynthia's help we will defeat Mortimer and Zeke, no problem."

"Ya know, your hesitation to ask the king only proves Mortimer's point that Mickey is more concern about the fate of other worlds than his own," Pete mused. "If you keyblader pipsqueaks manage to defeat Mortimer and Zeke; and that's a big if, then the people would say that Mickey is so conceited that he couldn't be bothered to save his own kingdom."

"I know, I know," Kairi said pacing. "I know how it will sound, but after this is over I will talk to the people and tell them why Mickey is so concern about saving the universe. What's happening out there affects them just as much as the other worlds. They must know that."

"Very well," Maleficent said concealing her true thoughts. "What do you wish to say to them?"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor was sitting in the captain's chair in the cabin of the Heart of Gold. Bonkers sat upside down in his chair reading a magazine while Miranda was at the computer console typing away. The keyblader was getting use to some peace and quiet for a change when the ship's alarm went off.

"Eddie, what's wrong?" Trevor asked the computer program.

"We're being hailed," the program answered going through streams of data. "The message is from a powerful supernatural force; it's bypassing my firewalls and security measures!"

Before anyone could do anything, an image appeared on the screen.

"…Kairi?" Trevor said with an eyebrow raised. He couldn't tell where the princess of heart was; only that it was dark and damp.

The redhead took a deep breath and began to speak.

**KH-KH-KH**

Like on the Heart of Gold, Cynthia's gummiship, the Dragonfly, was being held simultaneously. Cynthia, Max, and PJ stared at the screen as Kairi delivered her message.

"Trevor, Cynthia," the princess of heart began, "I'm stuck in a prison on the world Disney Castle. Something horrible has happened to the world, it was taken over by someone named Mortimer. He declared himself king and imprisoned me. Also¾" The screen started to flicker and Kairi's voice kept fading in and out before the message was cut off completely.

Max and PJ stared at each other horrified. As far as they knew, Disney Castle was the only safe haven in the universe. It seems impossible that a world as pure and virtuous as their homeworld could ever be taken over.

"Our world…," PJ began but drifted off.

"This is bad, Peej," Max said. "This is very bad."

Cynthia was already in action; flipping switches and changing the course of the ship. "Who is this Mortimer guy whose ass we have to kick?" the keyblader asked as she finished punching in the coordinates. She didn't need to be told twice to help her friends reclaim their world. _'You mess with my friends' world, you mess with me,'_ she thought.

"Someone who was banished before our time," Max tried to explain as he joined her. "I don't know the whole story myself, but I know he caused a lot of trouble in the past."

The keyblader grimaced for a minute. Even though she was willing to take back Disney Castle, this incident is distracting them from everyone's mission. Cynthia sighed heavily as the gummiship sped along inner-space. _'If it isn't one thing, it's another,'_ she thought grimly.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers wandered through the semi-empty streets of Disney Castle. They arrived on the world only moments ago after using the infinite improbability drive; much to Miranda's displeasure. Surprisingly, for the first time, nothing went wrong when they used the improbability drive, though one of the chairs in the cabin is missing.

The few inhabitants that they encounter in Disneytown looked away or avoided them completely, pretending to be busy with nonexistent work. Trevor immediately picked up that the people of this world were afraid of the new ruler and actively tried to remain low-key. They were trying to be low-key themselves. This was a rescue mission and a counterrevolution; the element of surprise is crucial.

Quickly and quietly they navigate through the town, trying to find the prison that holds Kairi. Trevor walked over to a small cat child and asked "Could you please tell me where the prison is?"

The child's eyes became as wide as dinner plates as he stared back at the keyblader. "Outworlders!" he screamed. "There are outworlders here!" All of the citizens started screaming, ran into the nearest building, and locked the door behind them. As that was happening, soldiers from every nook and cranny possible came crawling out.

"Stop outworlders!" the soldiers bellowed at the trio. "You are not welcomed here!"

As the soldiers began to surround them, Trevor and his friends fled down a narrow alley between a baker's and florist shop.

"So much for the welcoming committee," Bonkers stated as they fled.

"What the heck is going on?" Trevor yelled at his comrades. "Did Mortimer and Zeke screw things over this badly?"

"Kairi wasn't kidding when she said this world went topsy-turvy," Miranda added.

The alley led to a small playground that was gated off by a tall chain link fence. They climbed the fence trying desperately to escape the hastening soldiers. Bonkers was the first to jump over while Miranda was at the top. Trevor almost made it over, but several soldiers grabbed his leather jacket and tried to pull him down.

The keyblader struggled to free himself, but more hands grabbed him, slowing him down. He tried to reach for Miranda's hand but to no avail; Trevor was yanked from the gate and pulled down to the ground. He tried to get on his feet and fight, but the many soldiers continue to hold him down.

All hope seemed lost for the keyblader when the soldiers began to drag him away. Suddenly a voice yelled, "**Meteor!**" Several magic spheres descended upon the soldiers causing them to scatter and drop Trevor. The keyblader looked up and saw Cynthia, Max, and PJ on top of one of the buildings. They jumped down and had their weapons ready.

"Not bad for someone who chose the shield in the Station of Awakening, huh Trevor?" she teased.

"But I was the one who cast the spell," PJ corrected her.

"Yeah, but I was the one who ordered you to do it!" the female keyblader smirked.

"Less talking, more getting-the-hell-outta-here!" Trevor yelled. "And the only way to do that is to jump the fence!"

Cynthia nodded. "Max, see if you can buy us some time," she ordered.

The dog-teen focused all of his energy in his sword as he held it above his head. The blade of the weapon shimmered with a growing light as it gathered power. When the sword was at its brightest, Max unleashed his attack. "**Sonic Wave!**" he brought down his sword and released a huge energy wave upon the soldiers. The soldiers, once again, broke formation and shattered to avoid Max's attack.

Trevor, Cynthia, Max and PJ made a mad dash over the fence and landed on the soft green grass of the small playground. The six of them made a run for it. As they ran across to reach the other side of the park, Cynthia noticed something.

"There is only one entrance/exit to the park! You led us into a potential shooting gallery!"

"What are you talking about?" Trevor questioned the female keyblader.

"If the soldiers managed to block the entrance, it would be like shooting fish in a barrel for them! We would be all¾" Just then, several soldiers poured through the entrance of the playground. From behind them, the soldiers that they managed to escape from cut a huge gap in the fence and our heroes were being flanked from both sides. "¾trapped…" Cynthia said bitterly.

As all of the soldiers rushed them the six warriors form into a circle and draw out their weapons.

"This would be embarrassing," Trevor began, "If we are all were taken down right next to this jungle gym."

"The fact that we're having our last stand near a jungle gym is embarrassing enough!" Cynthia snapped back.

When Disney Castle's warriors have completely surrounded them, one of them stepped forward. It was the same duck soldier that had captured Kairi and in his hands was a dark gray metal sphere with a diameter of seven inches. The duck grabbed the top of the sphere and twisted it until he got a loud clicking sound. The orb turned red and emitted a large energy pulse that almost knocked Trevor and Cynthia off their feet.

Trevor's and Cynthia's keyblades disappeared and they stared at each other in bewilderment.

"Confused keybladers, you out-worlder scum?" the duck soldier laughed at them. He tossed the glowing sphere in the air a couple of times before continuing. "This little baby is able to neutralize your magical powers completely!"

"That is, until the battery becomes flat, then!" a dog solider with a Brummie accent called out from behind the duck.

The duck soldier fumed. "You were not supposed to tell them that!"

The dog soldier scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry 'bout that Captain. Just tryin' to be useful."

"If you want to be useful go jump in a lake," the duck suggested.

"Second-lieutenant Walter Fowl, what the _heck_ are you doing? You're not the captain of the royal guard, my father is!" Max yelled at the duck. The duck soldier gave the dog-teen an irritated yet clearly disappointed look, at least as much as he could since he was wearing a visor. "Say what you will about him, but my father is the captain," Max continued. "You may be my master and the one who taught how to swordfight, but I will not allow you to take my father's place!" Everyone, except for PJ, stare at Max. They didn't know that Max had a swordfighter instructor.

The duck captain laughed a guttural laugh at the teen. "How amusing," the soldier spat. "The boy cares about his traitorous dad."

"MY FATHER IS NOT A TRAITOR!"

"Anyone who aligns himself with Mickey is a traitor!"

"You're one to talk!" Miranda added. "You're helping Mortimer and Zeke in their coup d'état! You can't be more traitorous than that!"

The duck passed the magical-canceling orb to the soldier next to him and placed his right hand on his sword. "It's a matter of perceptive, sweetheart. I don't want to do this, but orders are orders. Max, there's still hope for you; you are one of my finest squires. Join us, become a better man than your father!"

"Never!" Max gritted.

Captain Fowl gave a painful sigh. "Then you die with the rest of them!" He unsheathed his sword and faster than the eye could follow, he unsheathed a devastating energy wave attack. "**Hurricane Slash!**"

The attack rushed toward the six heroes with the force of a typhoon. Before the attack could hit them, Cynthia jumped in front of it and pulled out a thin metal staff which elongated itself into a pole. She spun her weapon around as the attack hit and managed to disperse it. Cynthia smiled as surveyed the faces of stunned soldiers.

"This time, I've remembered to bring my jō," she said proudly.

"GET THEM!" Captain Fowl ordered and all of the soldiers rush at our heroes.

The soldiers descended on the heroes like rabid ants at a picnic. Despite their temporary loss of their keyblade powers Trevor and Cynthia managed to fight quite effectively. Cynthia expertly pushed back enemies with her jō while Trevor fought with his bare hands. Miranda and Max had to defend Bonkers and PJ. Because of the magic-canceling sphere the two magicians were useless in battle.

Wave after wave of soldiers came pouring in and quickly overwhelm the group of six. Trevor was the first to be capture. He was tackled by three dog soldiers and handcuffed by a weasel one. Max was the second to be capture, followed by Miranda, PJ, Bonkers, and finally Cynthia. The soldiers quickly handcuffed them, got them on their feet, and marched them straight to the jailhouse.

**KH-KH-KH**

Kairi sat on the right corner of the bench in her jail cell; her feet were on the bench to avoid cockroaches and rats from brushing against her legs. Pete was pacing back and forth a bit holding the orb under his right armpit. It seem like forever since they last spoke and the silence between them hung awkwardly above their heads. Only Maleficent, who was still trapped within the orb, took comfort in the silence as she plotted her revenge.

After a few hours, the imprisoned three heard the door to their cellblock opened. An explosion of noise, voices, and shouts came pouring in. Kairi ran up to the bars and tried to press her face through them to see what the ruckus was all about. Several of the Royal Guard soldiers came running up to her cell and bashed their weapons against the bars.

"Back!" they yelled. "Back all of you! Don't you dare try anything funny!"

Kairi and Pete quickly scooted to the back wall to avoid being hit by the weapons. One of the guards came up, unlocked the cell, and flung the door wide open. Then a horde of soldiers came pouring in tossing Trevor, Cynthia, Miranda, Bonkers, Max, and PJ on the floor, one by one. The soldiers shuffled quickly out of the cell and the guard locked the door behind them.

"You sons of a¾" Trevor got to his feet and yelled. He summoned his keyblade and tried to unlock the door, but the prison's magic prevented it.

"You keybladers are a thickheaded bunch," Walter chuckled as he strolled in. The duck soldier delighted in his victory, and watched his prisoners squirm behind bars. "Last chance, Max," he warned the dog-teen. "I'd really hate to see my best student behind bars."

"Bite me!" Max spat.

For a brief moment, Captain Fowl looked hurt, but the duck quickly regain his composure and shrugged off his squire's comment. "Suit yourself," the captain said as he and his soldiers exited the cellblock.

When the cellblock door was closed shut, Pete snorted. "So much for our rescue party," he grimly lamented.

"D-d-dad?" PJ stuttered, eyes wide open. "Is it really you?"

Pete was also surprised; he never thought he would see his only son in here. "PJ, my boy…" he began, but didn't know what to say. "What are you doing running around with a keyblader?"

"You're one to talk. What are you doing running around with a dark sorceress?" Max stick up for his best friend. "Where is the old windbag anyway? Did she finally gain some common sense and deserted you?"

Pete held up the orb containing Maleficent and everyone in the cramped cell gasped.

"What were you saying, you insufferable child?" the dark witch cast an evil eye on the dog-teen.

Kairi sat back down on the bench and nervously played with her hair. "Two people called Mortimer and Zeke did that to her," she began. "They also managed to get the entire world's loyalty. Pete and Maleficent also said that they somehow were able to become keybladers; I don't know how that happened. By the time I got here it was too late…"

Trevor punched the nearest wall and silently cursed under his breathe. "I brought this to this world." All eyes fell on him. "Awhile back ago, me, Miranda, and Bonkers encountered Mortimer and Zeke. They wanted to go home and wouldn't stop bugging us. So, I opened a portal sending them home."

"Are you crazy?" Max yelled. "You let them out of exile? How could you do that?"

"I didn't know, okay?" Trevor defended himself. "I didn't know that they would do all of this."

"And on top of that, you gave them the power of the keyblade?" Max continued on.

"That was not me!" Trevor yelled. "I don't know who gave them that power, but it wasn't me!"

"Trevor, are you sure?" Kairi asked. Even though she was disappointed in Trevor, she wasn't mad, but wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery. "Maybe it happened by accident. That happened to me once when I was fighting someone named Robin Hood¾"

"I think I would know if I passed someone the power! I'm not as careless as you!" Trevor yelled sharply causing Kairi to recoil a bit. He turned around and sighed, regretting what he just said. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Kairi; really, I am. I'm just really pissed off about the situation." He sank down to his feet, closed his eyes, and banged his head against the wall. "If a Heartless, Nobody, or Bleak doesn't kill me, the stress will," he said grimly.

"If it truly takes another keyblader to make someone else a keyblader," Bonkers wondered out loud. "And Mortimer and Zeke are bad guys. Then the only people who are willing to give them keyblades are dark keybladers. And the only two dark keybladers we know are Zackary and Derrick."

Trevor opened his eyes and stared at the bobcat. "That…that was actually brilliant detective work." The keyblader was surprised since Bonkers wasn't known for his rationality.

"Of course!" Miranda pounded her fist in her hand. "It has to be one of those two."

"Whoa, whoa! Back the truck up!" Cynthia was trying to make sense of Bonkers' hypothesis. "We all know who Zackary is, but who's Derrick? Is there another keyblader running around the universe that we don't know about?"

Before Trevor could answer, the cellblock door opened and a figure descended down the stairs. Everyone held their breath as the lone entity approached their cell. The figure was a soldier; a horse donned in full armor. The soldier went up to the bars and snorted to himself. "Well, doesn't this beat all?" the horse said in a slow, but friendly drawl. "I have never seen so many people cramped up like sardines in one cell before."

"Maybe you should come in and join us," Trevor spat, "so you can get a more holistic experience."

"And maybe we can throw you a blanket party," Cynthia added.

The horse soldier lifted up his visor and smiled brightly. "Guys, it's me!" he whispered.

"Horace!" Max and PJ rushed over to the bars to greet their old friend. "We're glad to see you!" Max said. "What happened here? Why did the people let this coup happen?"

The horse looked down sadly. "The truth is, I don't know. Out of the blue, Mortimer and Zeke appeared and started givin' speeches about how the world is in bad shape because King Mickey has abandoned his royal duties. The people drank it up as if they forgotten everything that the king has done for them. Next thing ya know, Mortimer crowned himself king with the people and Royal Guard's support; made me mad enough to spit."

"That's troubling…," Miranda rubbed her temples. "If Mortimer and Zeke has both the people and the military's support then it would be hard to remove them from power."

"Which means we have to dethrone Mortimer _and_ convince the people to take back Mickey as their king," Cynthia added. "But how are we going to do that?"

"Lucky for y'all, you're looking at the founder and leader of the counterrevolution," Horace Horsecollar said proudly. "That why I'm here, to burst you guys out. … Well, actually, I came to burst Kairi out, I didn't know that y'all will be on this world, let alone get arrested."

"That's great Horace," Pete pushed Max and PJ out of the way. "How are you going to get us outta here?"

"Ain't no one bursting you out, Pete," Horace narrowed his eyes. "You and Maleficent and sit here until the jail rots for all I care."

"Ya can't just leave me here!" Pete whined. "If you do, I make sure that Mortimer catches wind of your little counterrevolution."

Everyone stared at Pete aghast. PJ looked at his father filled with disappointment. "Dad, you can't do that! Think about the fate of this world…of everybody!"

"PJ, my boy, you never get anything you want in life thinking about other people," the teen's father laughed.

Cynthia stared daggers at Pete. "How can the father of a son so sweet, be so selfish?"

"Maybe we should beat him up and make our getaway," suggested Trevor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Pete warned them.

"Why should we bring you along?" Miranda questioned with her arms folded. "You and Maleficent could betray us in the end."

"Well sister, you guys have a couple of options," Pete began. "You can leave me and Maleficent here and we tattle on you. You can beat me up to keep my mouth shut, but the noise from the scuffle will alert the guards upstairs that something is wrong and they'll be force to see what's the matter. Or finally, you can make us honorary members of your band of misfits and maybe we will all have a chance at escaping."

"I advise you to weigh your choices swiftly," Maleficent added. "With each passing moment, I sure that the guards upstairs are wondering what the horse is doing down there with the prisoners."

The whole cell fell silent as everyone weighed their choices. "Do you two promise to behave?" Cynthia asked breaking the silence.

"What choice do you have?" Pete asked smugly.

Trevor got up and pointed his keyblade at Pete and Maleficent. "If you two even look at us the wrong way, we will kick you into next week."

"Perish the thought," Maleficent said coolly. "We desire our freedom just as much as you."

"Here, everyone put these shackles on," Horace tossed the prisoners the metal constrains before unlocking the door. The horse then marched the inmates out of the cell, up the stairs, and out of the cellblock.

When they all reached the front office, the dog soldier in charge looked at the prisoners questionably and then at Horace. "Where are you taking them?" the soldier asked with one eyebrow raised. "They are wanted for conspiracy, treason, resisting arrest, and crimes against the crown. They should never see the light of day."

"His majesty, King Mortimer, wishes to see them all at once," Horace replied. "He wishes to question them himself."

The dog soldier stood up at his desk and cast a doubtful glance at the horse. "I have received no such orders!" he barked. "Who are you, soldier and what's your unit number?"

Horace marched over to the dog soldier until they are mere centimeters apart. "I am here because of the king's orders," Horace began. "In case you haven't notice, we are in the middle of a regime change, so it's no surprise you fail to receive any orders. As far as giving my name and unit, it is I who should be asking _you_ that, so when I go back to see King Mortimer I can tell him who refused to follow his orders. Is that what you what me to do?"

The dog soldier looked down sheepishly for a moment before backing away. "… Well, there is no reason to get all irritable about it." He pushed a button on his desk unlocking the front door. "Well go on," he said. "Don't keep the king waiting. Oh, and could you put in a good word for me. Tell the king that Officer Randy Bonemeyer is an extremely loyal soldier. I want to move up the ladder, if you know what I mean."

Horace nodded and marched the prisoners outside.

Outside was a black police van with the back of the vehicle being opened by a duck with a plume haircut on his head. The duck looked shocked when he saw Horace come out with a parade of prisoners. "Our mission was to liberate Kairi, not the whole jail!" the duck said to the horse in a loud whisper.

"Relax, Fenton. A few extra allies won't hurt the cause," Horace said as he loaded everyone in the paddy wagon.

"I just hope that they all can fit in there," Fenton worried. "Oh, Horace, why all of them? Blathering Blather¾" The duck put his hand over his mouth and tried to calm himself down. "Calm down, Fenton. Don't use that phase, there is no need for Gizmoduck at the moment," he said silently to himself. "I'm sure that Horace has everything under control."

Once the last prisoner was loaded in, Horace shut the back doors of the van shut. "We're all set," he said to Fenton. "Time to go to the hideout." Horace got in the driver's seat while Fenton rode shotgun. The horse quickly started up the car and sped down the twisted streets.

**KH-KH-KH**

In the back of the paddy wagon, the nine prisoners silently wondering where the horse was taking them. It has been over an hour and it was getting hot in the cramp space. The shackles itch and tore into their ankles and wrists; all of them will be glad when they could stop wearing them.

The van slow to a halt and all of them could hear the engine cut off. The back doors opened a few seconds later with Horace and Fenton unlocking everyone's shackles.

"Did we really need to wear them the whole trip," Miranda questioned the horse as she rubbed her sore wrists.

"Just for appearances," Horace explained. "Suppose if we got pulled over?"

"Even still," Trevor said getting out of the van, "it wasn't a cakewalk."

As they all stepped out of the paddy wagon, they saw the counterrevolutionists' secret hideout; Pete recognized it immediately.

"Hey, this is my old rec room," the large cat said staring at the giant pinball machine that covered one the walls. "How did you guys find out about this place?" he demanded. "This room is supposed to be a secret!"

"Pete, everyone knows about your rec room," Horace said flatly. "Everyone expect for Mortimer and Zeke, which make it the perfect hiding place."

"Oh good, you all are here," said a voice with a Scottish accent. Everyone turned around and saw an elderly duck wearing a blue coat and a top hat walking up to them with several other people. "Horace, we send you to rescue Kairi, not the entire prison!"

"That's what I said!" Fenton added, but nobody paid him any attention.

"It's complicated," Horace rubbed his temples. "But you have to admit that having three keybladers on our side is a lot better than one, don't ya agree?"

"Aye," the old duck nodded reluctantly. "But the real question is what sort of keyblader are they?"

"Oh yes," Horace clapped his hands together. "Introductions, I almost forgot about that." He turned to Fenton, "You guys have met¾"

"Fenton Crackshell, at your service," the duck bowed.

"Right," Horace continued. "And this duck over here is¾"

"Scrooge McDuck, richest duck in this world or any other," Scrooge introduced himself.

"Yes, yes he is," Horace said a bit miffed that he was interrupted twice. "Now for the others. Over there we have¾"

"Darkwing, Launchpad!" Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers interrupted. "What are you two doing here? Aren't you guys supposed to be in St. Canard?" Trevor asked.

"Well, you know me," Darkwing Duck began looking pleased with himself. "Always willing to lend a hand."

Launchpad snatched his head in confusion. "But DW, you said you're only helping my world because you want to outdo Gizmoduck."

Darkwing quickly put his hand over the muscular duck's beak to make him stop talking. "Launchpad, you and your crazy ideas," the superhero laughed nervously. "A superhero never tries to outdo another. Even though we all know that I can beat that arrogant bucket of bolts any day of the week!"

"But it's not a contest, Darkwing," Fenton shifted his weight a bit. "Besides, I'm sure, … well I heard through the grapevine, that Gizmoduck see you as a friend and a trusted colleague."

"Some friend," Darkwing sniffed. "His homeworld is in turmoil and he doesn't show up to save it!"

"I'm pretty sure he knows about it and is working on a plan," Fenton looked away nervously.

"Wait, Launchpad, you're from this world?" Miranda asked trying to get the whole picture. "I thought you're from St. Canard."

"Well, I'm actually from here; Duckburg to be more precise," Launchpad said proudly. "In fact, I used to work for Scrooge as his personal pilot!"

"Aye, but ya kept crashing my planes," Scrooge fumed. "They don't grow on trees, ya know!"

"But how did you did you get to St. Canard in the first place?" Bonkers questioned.

The muscular pilot laughed sheepishly. "Well… I was testing one of Scrooge's gummiship prototypes and I crash landed there."

"Typical," the rich duck sniffed.

"Anyway," Horace said trying to get everyone back on track. "Next up we have¾"

"Mom!" PJ yelled and ran toward a dog woman wearing a pink sweater and tight white pants.

"PJ, sweetie!" the woman embraced her son. "Me and Pistol missed you so much honey!"

A small girl with two ponytails and a yellow skirt ran up and tackled PJ, talking to him nonstop about whatever that popped into her mind.

PJ's mother then turned to Pete and pointed an accusing finger at him. "YOU!" she said in an extremely ticked-off tone.

"Peg honey!" Pete gulped nervously. "Imagine seeing you here, with the counterrevolution."

"You left me to raise two kids by myself so you can go gallivanting with that…that witch!" Peg yelled at her husband as she rolled up her sleeves and stomped toward him.

With each step Peg took, Pete backed up fearfully. "Gallivanting? Who's gallivanting? I'm not gallivanting, nobody here is gallivanting! I was just hench-ing for Maleficent; platonically."

"Oh, I will _hench_ you all right!" Peg shook her fist at Pete before charging at him.

Pete let out a girlish scream and tossed Trevor the orb Maleficent was trapped in before running away. Peg gave chase while Pete tried to convince her that he is only a henchman.

After watching the madness for a few moments, Pistol shrugged then turned to the audience and said, "Parents; go figure."

"It's nice to see mom and dad getting along again," PJ beamed.

Cynthia gave PJ a look of disbelief. "What kind of family dynamic¾?"

"Moving on," Horace coughed as he gestured for a cow to come over. "Here we have the lovely, Clar¾"

"Clarabelle," Max said as he walked over to the cow. "Have you heard any news from my dad?"

"No Max, honey, I haven't," Clarabelle Cow said sadly. "But word on the street is that he, Donald, and King Mickey were in a top secret project that involved Jiminy's Journal."

Horace slapped his face and sighed. "Well, I guess that's everyone."

"What about us?" said a small voice.

"Huh?" Horace looked down and saw two mice and a green fly wearing a red sweater buzzing around. "Oh yes, you three." The horse carefully picked up the two mice and placed them on his shoulder. "I almost forgot. These three are¾"

"Gadget," the blonde female mouse wearing goggles and a purple jumpsuit introduce herself.

"And I'm Monterey Jack," said the stout mouse with an Australian accent. "And this is me pal, Zipper," he said referencing to the fly.

"Great," Cynthia clapped her hands together. "Now that we all have been introduced, Horace, maybe you can tell us what your plan is."

"Well, step one is to rescue Kairi from the big house," Horace explained.

"Yeah, go on," Cynthia urged.

The horse looked down and scratched the back of his head, completely embarrassed. "Well… Ya see… We haven't thought of step two." Everyone sighed and slapped their head. "We just figured that all we need is a keyblader," Horace defended himself. "You keybladers always seem to win in the end."

"It's not enough to have a keyblader or some other power player on your team. In the end of the day strategy is what wins battles," Cynthia explained. "You need to know your own weakness and strengths, but more importantly your opponent's weakness and strengths. If you are going to defeat Mortimer and Zeke, we need to know what they are like. Trevor, you met them before. Can you tell us anything?"

"I only met them once and it wasn't even for a full ten minutes," the keyblader admitted. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you anything about them."

"Zeke is more of an 'all-in' kind of guy," Pete said as stepped back into the group covered in bandages from the beating his wife gave him. "He is also relentless. Even if he fails and break every single bone in his body he will still keep on going. Now Mortimer, you don't have to worry too much about. He relies on his wits to get what he wants. He's not much of a fighter."

Cynthia took everything that Pete said in account. "What you have said maybe true, but there is still an unknown variable; now that they are keybladers what kind of powers and abilities they have now?"

"Why should that matter?" Trevor shrugged as he passed Maleficent's orb back to Pete. "The only difference now is that they have keyblades for weapons and access to magic."

"Surely Trevor, you have noticed that all keybladers have different abilities, strengths and weakness," Cynthia sighed. "For example: I can't use magic, but I can 'rewrite' someone else's spell. Kairi doesn't have much attack power, but excels at healing and supportive magic. And you have your speed and magic abilities, but suck in the defense department."

"I have no problem with defense!" Trevor folded his arms and defended himself. The next thing he knew, Cynthia summoned her keyblade. Before he could react, Cynthia thrust her weapon at Trevor sending him flying to the nearest wall. "Okay… So maybe I do need to work on my defense… But there was no need to get so physical about it."

"That's what you get for calling me stupid for choosing the shield at the Station of Awakening," Cynthia huffed.

"I never called you stupid," Trevor defended himself. "All I said that it was unusual for someone to choose the shield over the sword or wand."

"It not what you said, it's what you implied."

"Feuding with each other ain't going to help us beat Mortimer," Horace said stopping the two keybladers' argument. "There are a small number of us, but maybe we can storm the castle," he suggested. "Maybe some of the Royal Guard are still loyal to Mickey and will help us along the way."

"No, that's a _very_ bad plan," Cynthia intersected. "A direct frontal assault almost never works and when the plan's success depends on an unknown variable you know the plan is horrible." The female keyblader paced a bit racking her brain for a solution. "The most feasible solution is for us to sneak into castle and take Mortimer and Zeke by surprise. Separately, if possible."

"There's a secret entrance leading to the cellar of the castle; it's in the sewer," Scrooge offered. "My company helped the _true_ king put it in five odd years ago, so Mortimer and Zeke won't know about it."

"That's good!" Cynthia congratulated the old duck as she put the final pieces of her plan together. "Are there any secret passage ways in the castle itself?" she asked the group of animals. "Hidden rooms that we can use to navigate through the castle quietly undetected?"

"I don't know if there is lass, sorry," Scrooge McDuck apologized.

"Actually, there is," Max stepped up. Me and PJ lived in the castle for quite some time and when we go exploring we stumble across a couple of them. Most of them are just hidden hallways though and all of them are on the second floor."

"Blast, that means when we are on the first floor we'll be in the open until we get to the second floor," Cynthia pounded her fist.

"Assuming, of course, that Mortimer and Zeke are not on the first floor," Miranda added.

Cynthia nodded in agreement. "Max, PJ, I want you to get several pieces of paper and draw me some blueprints of the castle; including the hidden passages. Put everything down on the blueprints; where the guards might be station, where the throne room is, the royal bedchamber, everything down to the finest detail. I don't care how insignificant a detail might be; write it down, including the location of every potted plant and doily."

Max and PJ nodded and ran off to get the supplies.

"Wow. You're thinkin' of things we haven't thought of," Horace complimented Cynthia.

"It's a gift and don't thank me just yet," she responded. "Even though my plan is better than yours the probability for success is minimal. We don't even have intel on our targets movements or powers. We are practically fighting in the dark."

"Then perhaps I can be of service." Everyone turned and glance at the orb. Maleficent flashed a wicked smile at them like a hungry cat. "You need someone of enormous power, besides the keybladers, when you enter the castle. Free me and I may provide you with some assistance."

"No way," Cynthia said. "There's no way I'm going to let some dark sorceress run amuck. I don't care how desperate I am!"

"Oh, so do you know what kind of powers Mortimer and Zeke have? Have you fought them before? I have," Maleficent chuckled. "I can fill the void on the small piece of information you need…. But you will have to set me free first."

"Like hell," Cynthia crossed her arms.

Trevor sighed. "I hated to say it, but maybe Maleficent is right."

Everyone gawked at the keyblader, especially Cynthia. "Do you have any idea what you are saying?" she asked. "Have you forgotten what Leon and the others told us about her and how many lives she had ruined?"

"War and espionage tend to make strange bedfellows," Trevor replied. "We need her power and knowledge."

"Even if we want it, we have no way of freeing her!" Cynthia retorted.

"All you have to do is rewrite the magic of this orb." Cynthia stared at the dark sorceress who continued. "I overheard that that is your power, noble key bearer. If you use your powers then I shall be free."

Trevor pulled Cynthia aside and talked in a hush tone. "I think I know a way to control her."

"There's no way to control her, you know that!" Cynthia whispered back.

"I'm going to make a deal with her. One bounded by magic. I will make sure that one of the conditions is that she can't hurt us."

"Are you insane? Do you have any idea what you are suggesting?"

"I made a deal with a witch once, I can do it again."

"The only difference is, is that Yuko wasn't evil!"

Trevor put his hand on Cynthia's shoulder. "Trust me. You have to trust me. If the deal goes bad then I will make sure that everything, all of the consequences, will fall on me." Cynthia didn't say anything, just shook her head and looked away; Trevor took this as an okay.

"Maleficent," Trevor said as he walked over to Pete holding the orb. "We will free you for a price."

"Oh?" the sorceress sounded amused. "What is thy price?"

"You will tell us about Mortimer and Zeke's powers, you can't harm any of us, and you will help us take back the kingdom."

Maleficent thought about this for a short while. "That price, I afraid, is too steep key bearer," she began. "You of all people should know that a fair price is nothing to be trifle with. I can see that you have the mark of Yuko on you." Trevor shivered a little despite himself.

"Nevertheless," Maleficent continued. "I can cancel out your conditions with conditions of my own. For freeing me I will help you win back the kingdom in any way possible as long as the castle stands. For your other demands….if I can't do any harm to any of you, you all must pledge that you can't do any harm to me."

"Done," Trevor said quickly. Miranda grabbed his shoulder, but he took it off. "I know what I'm doing."

"As for providing you information," the sorceress continued, "my price for that is… unique."

"Name it," Trevor said.

"When you leave this world, the next castle you set foot in shall be mine for the taking. And you will have to help me claim that castle. Do we have a deal on all terms?" A hand made of green flames appeared before Trevor, open and ready for a handshake.

"Think about what you're doing, Trevor," Cynthia warned. "Don't be so impulsive!"

Trevor grasped the hand of flame and shook it, as if he didn't hear Cynthia at all.

"I'm glad that we have reached an agreement," Maleficent smiled. "Now release me!" Despite her own volition, Cynthia's body moved on its own. Against her will she place her right hand on the orb and felt energy leaving her body. The orb cracked then shattered into a million pieces. A large column of green fire appeared and the evil witch stepped out of it. "I'm free once again!" she yelled in dark jubilation.

"We kept our end of the deal, time for you to keep yours," Trevor said flatly.

Maleficent started daggers at the keyblader. "Very well, as you wish. The wolf's power mainly lies in his keyblade. He's able to create shockwaves and energy waves with his weapon. When I was battling with him, at first, I thought he was extremely fast. Only as the battle wore on I realized that he has the ability to manipulate time almost indefinitely. Most of my spells were useless against his armor."

"So Zeke is a keyblader with high defense and attack power; plus he has the abilities of a time mage. Not good," Cynthia paced around the room. "What about Mortimer?"

"Ah yes, the mouse," Maleficent grimaced. "At first glance there is nothing special about him, but he is diverse in many spells and incantations. However, his ability to drain his opponent's life energy is his most effective art."

"So heavily-duty magic user that can cast _Sap_ and probably _Drain_ and _Osmosis_," Cynthia rationalized. "Not the hardest of enemies, but still a pain to take down."

"I should warn you about the third entity," Maleficent said.

"Third entity? What third entity?" Miranda questioned.

"A woman with immense power," Maleficent spoke. "Hair jet black as ebony, skin white as bleach dry bone, and she has the most curious symbol on her forehead."

Trevor, Bonkers, Kairi, and Miranda gasped. "A Bleak!"

"Is that what you call such a creature?" the witch asked. "If that entity hadn't gotten involved I could have overpower the wolf and mouse. However, the woman's power rivals my own and she put me in that accursed orb. That… Bleak as you called it, seem to work for the two usurpers and obey their every command."

"Even more good news," Cynthia spat sarcastically.

"We got the blueprints ready," Max said as he and PJ walked back into the room. Both of them froze when they saw that Maleficent was free.

"It's okay," Cynthia soothed them, but was uncomfortable with the situation herself. "She'll be working with us. Give me the blueprints." The two teens gave her the makeshift blueprints of the castle and she studied them quickly and carefully. "Okay…," she said after some time. "The problem is not as bad as I thought, but moving through the castle will still be a crapshoot. But perhaps there's a way to avoid this needless running around." She turned to face Maleficent. "Remember you'll have to help us reclaim the kingdom," she reminded her.

"As long as the castle stands I shall aid you," the dark enchantress gave a slight bow.

"Then teleport us in the castle," Cynthia demanded. "Preferably where Mortimer is hiding."

"That I cannot do," Maleficent turned.

"And why not?" Cynthia demanded.

"Maleficent, we had a deal," Trevor remind her.

"You do not need to remind me," Maleficent hissed. "I am simply unable to perform the task you desire. An invisible barrier surrounding the castle prevents me from opening a portal there. The power behind this barrier is not magic, but something entirely different. I suspect that Bleak is the one behind it. Unless I know the source of her power I cannot work my way around it."

"How convenient for you," Cynthia sniffed.

"You don't believe me, young one?" the dark sorceress questioned as she raised her staff. "Then let me show you!" She brought her staff down and entire group was surrounded by a giant circle of flames. Everybody started to levitate as the flames grew brighter and hotter. Then everyone froze in the air and was slammed down to the ground; including Maleficent. The dark fairy got up and dusted herself off. "Hopefully now you see all is as I told you."

"Fine, we believe you," Cynthia said as she got up. "I guess we have to do things the old fashion way."

Several hours later, after Cynthia finished putting her plan together, everyone in the counterrevolution (expect for Pistol, Gadget, Monterey, and Zipper, who all of them stayed behind) was wading through the sewers trying to get into the castle undetected. Anyone who didn't have a weapon before was given a blaster to use. Scrooge McDuck led the party, while Trevor covered the rear. All of them were tense about the upcoming battle.

"The entrance to the castle's cellar should be around here," Scrooge said as he patted down a slime covered wall. After a few seconds he found the hidden switch and the wall opened up.

"Okay everybody, let's move in," Cynthia ordered. As they all marched into the basement, the strategist keyblader decides to prep them one last time. "We will go in as two teams; one led by Max, the other by PJ since they know the castle layout the best. Stick together and avoid the areas I pointed out to you and¾"

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. The group was knocked to the ground as everything around them fell down to ground.

"An earthquake?" Kairi yelled.

Just then, several cracks appeared above the cellar's ceiling and rays of sunshine started pouring through.

"Oh my god," Cynthia gasped. "They didn't."

**KH-KH-KH**

A few minutes earlier, in the throne room, Mortimer was admiring himself in a hand mirror. "Looking good, Mortimer ol' pal," he said to himself. "But was there any doubt?" He was wearing an overly decorated white military uniform and a red velvet cape with white-spotted fur around the top. The crown that sat upon his head was overly complicated and was too big the fit his head properly. His whole outfit screamed that he was trying to look more important than he really was.

The huge doors to the throne room swung wide open and Zeke came in dragging Queen Minnie behind him. The wolf was clad in red battle armor. The armor itself didn't look bulky or massive, but looking at it one can tell that it greatly protects the wearer from almost any attack.

The queen didn't take her role as captive passively; she struggled and fought to be free. Unfortunately for her, Zeke had an iron grip.

"Let go of me!" Minnie yelled. "This is no way to treat your queen!"

"Minnie, ha-cha-cha," Mortimer said as he got up from the throne. "Have you come to your senses and decide to marry me?"

"Never!" the queen said defiantly. "I will never marry you! Mickey is the true king of this kingdom and you can never replace him!"

"She has been like this all morning," Zeke sighed. "It's beginning to annoy me. Can we toss her in the dungeon and be done with her?"

"Tossing her in the dungeon, are you out of your mind?" Mortimer smirked as he strolled over toward the queen. "No wonder why you don't have a girlfriend. It's no way to woo a lady."

Before Mortimer can do or say anything else, Walter Fowl came rushing in the room. "The prisoners have escaped, my lord, including the captured keybladers!" the duck captain kneeled before the mouse. "But it's worst than that, we have reviewed the security footage and found that Horace Horsecollar, the leader of the rebellion, is the mastermind behind the escape."

"What?" the mouse yelled as his crown began to slip off his head, but he caught it before it had a chance to fall off. "That horse is always sticking his nose in places where it doesn't belong!"

"Well, he used to be a detective," Zeke added.

"Good!" Minnie said satisfied. "Now that the keybladers have joined the counterrevolution, you will be dethroned, Mortimer. I hope this little insurrection was worth it, because when we get through will you, your previous exile would look like a tropical vacation!"

Mortimer summoned his keyblade and pointed it at the queen. "How quickly you forget, my dear, that I'm a keyblader also!" The tall mouse's keyblade was made of shiny brass with the teeth of the blade in shape of a hook. The guard of the weapon was similar to the Kingdom Key, but was smaller and oval in shape with four red gems encrusted within it. The token of the keyblade was a small empty glass vile that was attach to the weapon by a simple link chain. The name of the keyblade was _Scrounger's Desire_.

"We don't have time for this petty arguing," Walter persisted. "You and Zeke will have to be escorted out of the palace at once! No doubt that our enemies are planning an attack."

Mortimer dismissed his keyblade and scoffed at the idea. "We have no need to run," he chuckled. "Let the fools come. We can squash them once and for all. Don't you agree, Zeke?"

"Yes, but let's make it difficult for them," the wolf said flatly. "Let's test their resolve. Hey, doll face!" he called out. "Come 'ere!"

A Bleak then strolled in the throne room. Her long hair was raven-black like all Bleaks, and her suit was so dark a green that it almost looked black. She had a certain air about her that one can only receive when they work in law enforcement. As she walked her right hand was on her holster, ready to fire her gun if needed. "Don't call me doll face again, else I will have a new wolf's pelt to wear," she warned Zeke.

"Our enemies are coming to get us," Mortimer said, but didn't look concerned. "What do you suggest we do, Agent Dunham?"

"The obvious choice will be to destroy them," the Bleak began, "but why waste precious time and energy trying to do that when you can scare them into surrendering."

"And how are we going to do that?" Zeke huffed.

"By showing them an amazing feat. One that they would deem impossible."

Mortimer was intrigued by this idea. "What do you have in mind?"

The Bleak flashed a smile for a split second. "Just you wait and see."

**KH-KH-KH**

On top of a rooftop in Disneytown, Robert and Nerela was sitting watching the castle through their binoculars. Every once in a while, Robert would jot down some notes on his yellow notepad before returning to his binoculars.

"I'm. So. Bored," Nerela complained. "We have a number of sleeper cells in this world, right? Can't we activate them and get this over with?"

"We're here to cause a distraction on this world, not take it over," Robert sighed. "That's why we gave Mortimer and Zeke the power of the keyblade, so they can cause as much chaos in this world as possible."

"Yeah, I remember those two losers," the blonde huffed. "Apparently they can't do anything right, because we have been here for over three days AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET!"

"Mortimer declared himself king, that happened." The tall rat put away his notepad and stood up. He pulled out a small device with a screen and studied it closely. "Strange….," he said as he continued to look at the device. "According to my scanner, one of those Bleak things is in the castle."

Right on cue the ground began to shake violently. Robert and Nerela braced themselves as they witness something that they couldn't explain.

"The castle, it's….it's….," Nerela couldn't finished.

"Floating away…," Robert finished for her.

Sure enough, the castle was floating higher and higher in the sky. Soon, it eclipsed the sun casting a shadow throughout the entire city.

Robert looked down on the street and saw hundreds of soldiers and policemen rushing to the site were the castle once stood.

"That's our cue," the rat said as he gathered his things.

"Finally!" Nerela got up and crack her knuckles. "I swear if I had waited a minute longer I was going to kill somebody!"

**KH-KH-KH**

"It's flying….," Miranda said in disbelief as she and the others stared up in the sky. "The castle is actually flying away! How is that possible?"

"It doesn't matter how it's possible, what matters is that our plan is ruined!" Cynthia stomped her foot on the ground. They now stood in a cellar with no roof; debris was scattered everywhere. She knew that soldiers from the city will come to the area to see what has happened. "Dammit, they must have seen us coming," she cursed under her breath. "Our element of surprise may be gone, but we still have to go up there and finish our job. Maleficent, I know you said you can't teleport us there, but you have to try. … Maleficent?"

Maleficent was walking away as if she didn't hear the keyblader. She stopped long enough to say, "Hmm? Were you talking to me, my dear?"

"Why are you running away," Cynthia demanded to know. "We have a deal; you are supposed to help us!"

"The arrangement of the deal was that I was to aid you as long as the castle stands. But it is not standing now, is it? It's floating away!" The dark witch then gave a long and wicked laugh.

"You tricked us!" Trevor yelled. "You knew that this was going to happen!"

"I knew nothing of the sort," Maleficent sniffed. "Though, I did have a feeling."

Trevor tried to summon his keyblade, but couldn't. It was like the time he was at Atlantis.

"Having trouble summoning your weapon, keyblader?" the witch taunted. "In case if you have forgotten, the deal we made prevents you from hurting me; remember?" Trevor looked away. "As you all know by now, a fair price is nothing to the trifle with," Maleficent laughed. "I am looking forward to what kind of castle you will help me conquer, Trevor. Pete, come! We have other business to attend to!" She opened a portal of green flames stroll on through.

"Don't you dare go in that portal, Pete!" Peg yelled as she pointed her blaster at her husband.

"I have to, babe!" Pete slowly inched away from her. "I owe her ever since she freed me from that other dimension!"

"Pete, I'm warning you!" she cocked her blaster.

"Sorry honey, but I have to go. PJ, take care of your mother!" then Pete bolted toward the portal and jumped in.

"Darn it! He's gone again," Peg lowered her gun. Then a smirk appeared on her face. "God, I love that man!"

"Your family's messed up," Max whispered to PJ.

"Dammit! I can't believe I was tricked like that!" Trevor pounded the floor with his fist.

"I can," Cynthia said. "You don't think Trevor, you're too impulsive. You just made a deal with the devil and it was all for nothing! Maybe your brother was right."

"What did you say?"

"When we first met, your brother told me that the real reason why your father didn't pass you the Power was because your heart was too aimless and quick to judgment. Maybe you should never have gotten the keyblade in the first place."

"You take that back!" Miranda and Horace had to separate the two keybladers before it got violent.

"Stop you two!" the blonde cop ordered. "Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help us! We still need to figure out a way to reach the castle."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Darkwing Duck said pointing up in the sky.

A makeshift helicopter appeared and hovered in the air above them. A rope ladder dropped from the aircraft and Gadget's voice boomed over the vehicle's loud speakers.

"What are you waiting for?" the blonde mouse asked. "Get in!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Light Yagami strutted through Naraku's castle with one thing on his mind. _'I'm tired of waiting. This has to end today!'_

By the time Ryuk caught up with him, he already pulled out his Death Note.

"What are you doing there, Light," the shinigami questioned. "Following one of Naraku's orders?"

"No Ryuk," Light sniffed as he clicked his pen. "Not anymore. I'm tired of following that demon's orders. He's useless to me now; I can achieve my goal without him."

"So what are you going to do?"

Light smile and wrote a name in the Death Note. "Today is the day that Naraku dies!"

**Next Chapter: Everything Hits the Fan**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

Walter Fowl (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Pete: Steamboat Willie(1928)

Maleficent: Sleeping Beauty(1959)

Horace Horsecollar: The Plowboy(1929)

Fenton Crackshell: Ducktales(1987)

Scrooge McDuck: Scrooge McDuck and Money(1967)

Peg: Goof Troop(1992)

Pistol: Goof Troop(1992)

Clarabelle Cow: Plane Crazy(1928)

Gadget: Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers(1988)

Monterey Jack: Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers(1988)

Zipper: Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers(1988)

Agent Olivia Dunham: Fringe(2008)


	30. Everything Hits the Fan (Part 1)

**It's been a **_**looooong**_** time since I have updated, hasn't it? Unfortunately, a few months ago, my old computer crashed and all of the fanfiction writings along with it. That's 20+ pages up in smoke! So after a lot of crying, buying a new computer, and a backup drive, I'm finally back in the fanfiction game. So here is your Christmas present. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 29: Everything Hits the Fan (Part 1)**

Gadget's helicopter buzzed in the air as the counter-revolutionists took a moment's reprieve. The helicopter was big enough to fit fifteen people, but it was still fast enough to quickly maneuver out of danger. The aircraft was surprisingly sturdy despite its makeshift, tacky appearance. The seats in the helicopter were chairs from different places with nylon rope serving as seatbelts. Gadget was at the vehicle's control panel which was small enough for her to operate.

"It's good that you have come to our rescue," Horace said as he looked out the window and saw the crater, where the castle once stood, swarming with soldiers.

"Oh, this? I've whipped this up two days ago. I thought the counterrevolution could use it," Gadget said as she pulled some levers. "So, what's our next course?"

"That's a question for our new general," Horace said looking at Cynthia.

"Me?!" Cynthia said surprised. "Why me?"

"Why not you?" the house asked. "You're a perfect choice. In fact, you're the only choice. You are able to construct a plan of action in mere moments and you've already proved to us that you are a strategist."

Cynthia quickly thought about the horse's proposal and rolled it around her head. "… General Cynthia does have a nice ring to it. Okay, for the time being, I'll accept." All of the helicopter's occupants cheered, but Cynthia quickly quiet them down. Now was not the time for celebration, but a quick counterstrike. "Our element of surprise has been blown, but we still have to fight them. If we wait till later to fight, then they might _'really'_ beef up security and make it impossible to enter the castle. Gadget headed toward the castle; to be more precise, the courtyard."

"Aye-aye," the blonde mouse responded and steered the helicopter toward the floating castle.

"Like before, we will split into two teams," explained Cynthia. "Trevor, you lead Team A. Your team will have the tough job of being a decoy. Your team will include Miranda, Bonkers, Scrooge, Fenton, Peg, and Kairi. My team, Team B, will include Max, PJ, Horace, Clarabelle, Darkwing, and Launchpad. We will try to find Mortimer and Zeke."

"Uh, excuse me," Kairi weakly said. "But shouldn't I be on your team? You don't have any healers in your party. It will be a waste to have three people who can heal in one party."

"That's because Trevor's team will be decoys. Your team's job is to create all of the chaos so most of the soldiers will be too distracted fighting you guys allowing my team to maneuver somewhat freely in the castle. So you see your team will need extra healers. A decoy is no good if it gets knocked out before the plan can reach its zenith.

"Besides, I want your team to find and destroy this Bleak Maleficent was talking about. Out of all the keybladers present, only you and Trevor have fought against them. If these Bleaks are really as powerful as you guys claim they are then I rather put the people who have dealt with them in the same group."

"I see…," Kairi exhaled, but was still worried.

"Cynthia smiled and put her hand on the princess of heart's shoulder. "Don't worry about us. PJ knows _Regen_ so we should be okay."

"And I have plenty of potions!" Launchpad said as he showed off a backpack full of Potions and Mega Potions.

"Okay…," Kairi said a bit more confident.

"We're about to land," Gadget said as the helicopter was hovering above the courtyard.

"Okay," Cynthia clapped her hands together. "You know the drill, people. Let's retake this world!"

Everyone in the aircraft cheered, ready to take on Mortimer and Zeke. As the helicopter touched down, the doors flew open.

"Trevor, your team is up!" Cynthia yelled out.

"Roger that!" Trevor yelled as he and his team jumped out of the helicopter. Almost immediately the Royal Guard bustled out of the castle ready to take them out. At first, Trevor was worried about Cynthia's team, but when he looked back he saw them quietly run down an unguarded entryway. Gadget's helicopter slowly made its ascendance and whirled away; there was no going back now.

Trevor readied his keyblade and quickly prepared for battle. "Okay team, let's take back castle!" Everyone cheered and charged at the soldiers. The soldiers tried to put up a fight, but there were only ten of them and they were not as strong as the soldiers the group's faced in the past. Team A made short work of them and knocked every one of them unconscious.

They wandered into the castle and found themselves in the colonnade; a long, massive hallway with the entrance to the entrance to the Audience Room only a few feet from them. Trevor and Miranda pushed open the large doors leading into the Audience Room and peeked inside. Everyone was shocked to find the large room completely empty and unguarded.

"It figures that no one is here," Miranda stated as they all walked in. "This will be an obvious place for us to attack. The guards probably moved Mortimer somewhere else for his safety."

"If it's so obvious that we'll come here, why leave this place unguarded?" Trevor wondered out loud. "This is the throne room, right? You can't leave the throne room unguarded unless−"

The two large doors slammed shut by themselves and the drapes covered the windows as if it was done by ghost hands. A cold chill sliced through the air and it instantly felt like they were in a meat locker.

"It was a trap," Trevor hissed as he summoned his keyblade. Then the keyblader felt an all too familiar feeling as the chill slowly ran down his spine. "The Bleak is here!" he warned the others.

"And how do you know that, laddie?" Scrooge questioned as he struggled with his blaster. "I don't see anything."

Trevor hesitated for a moment. Only Miranda and Bonkers knew that his soul was a Bleak and that he can sense Bleaks when they are near. He didn't want the others to find out about his condition. Telling them a simple half-truth would have to suffice. "I fought against a lot of Bleaks since my journey began and know how they operate."

"Is that so?" said a cold and detach voice. Everyone looked around, but couldn't find the source of the voice. "Does this mean that you can predict my every move?" the voice continued to mock Trevor.

"Show yourself!" Trevor demanded. "I don't like talking to thin air!"

The air seemed to grow colder and there seem to be electricity in the air. The Bleak suddenly appeared in front of them. Her face was completely emotionless as she slowly crossed her arms. "So you two are the keybladers that Mortimer and Zeke were talking about," she said to Trevor and Kairi. "You two don't look like much. Where's the other two of you; the ones called Sora and Riku?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Kairi yelled as she brandished her weapon. "And don't underestimate us. I'm sure you will find us more than a challenge!"

A hint of amusement slowly spread across the Bleak's face as she tossed her ebony hair back. "I'll take it that I have hit a nerve with you. Kairi, was it?"

The Bleak slowly walked toward them. The dark soul's behavior unnerved the warriors. She was clearly not afraid of them and her body language reflected that. She smiled as if she could wipe them away with a single thought.

"In life I was known as Special Agent Olivia Dunham, by the way," the Bleak casually introduced herself. "I was never one to believe in the whole 'life-after-death' bit, but I gotta say… When you are killed by one of those Heartless things and yet your soul continues to somehow exist when you have died… Heh, it put things in perspective."

"Why are you working with Mortimer and Zeke?" Miranda intersected. "I thought you Bleaks like to devour the strong hearts of keybladers."

"Those two don't exactly have strong hearts," Olivia said referring to Mortimer and Zeke. "They knew when they took over this world that the other keybladers will come running to save it. So we made a deal: I will protect and aid them, in exchange I get to devour the heart and soul of any keyblader that gets in their way." She flickered and vanished before their eyes. She suddenly appeared by Trevor's side, causing the keyblader to jump. "And I'm going to enjoy tasting your heart."

Trevor and the others were surprised by the Bleak's abilities. "How are you able to do that?" the keyblader demanded to know as he distanced himself. "Super speed? Teleportation?"

"Cortexiphan," Olivia simply stated. "It gives me special abilities, especially over perception. When I was alive I couldn't use my powers on command. But now, in this state, I have free access. Perhaps you would like a demonstration?" She grabbed Trevor and they both disappeared.

The group looked around frantically for their missing leader.

"Trevor?!" Miranda called out, but Trevor and the Bleak were nowhere to be seen. "Trevor? Trevor!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Before Trevor knew it, he felt himself being toss across the room and landed in something cold and wet. The keyblader's body was in shock he shivered violently from the sudden change in temperature. He glanced up and was blinded by a sea of white and the vicious wind blowing in his face. Trevor couldn't tell where he was except that somehow he was in the middle of a blizzard. The keyblader took a step forward, but slipped and fell a couple of feet down a slope. The fall scared him a bit, but he was thankful that he didn't hurt himself.

"You got to watch that first step, keyblader," the Bleak's voice taunted him. "We don't want you to break your neck."

"Where are you?! Where is this place?!" Trevor demanded to know.

"We are on another world, far from Disney Castle," Olivia voice drifted in the howling wind. "I will leave you here to cool off while I dispose of your friends."

"No!" Trevor ran toward a shadow that looked like it could be Olivia, but as he got nearer it vanished.

The temperature was dropping and Trevor wasn't dressed for cold weather. He tried to make a fire using the Firaga spell, but the fierce wind kept blowing it out. Trevor was scared, not only his friends were in danger, but if he doesn't find shelter soon he will die from hypothermia.

Trevor felt a presence coming at him from behind. He turned around and summoned his keyblade expecting a battle. Instead of a Heartless of a Nobody he saw the face of a friendly yeti.

"Welcome to the Himalayas!" the yeti greeted.

"Wha-?" was all that Trevor could say before he fainted.

**KH-KH-KH**

The prison was quiet since the soldiers and guards all left to see what happened to the castle. A dark corridor swirled into existence and both Robert and Nerela stepped out. Robert was busy tapping away on his tablet device while Nerela sneered at their surroundings.

"Of all the places in this world, we come here?" she protested. "Is the thing we're lookin' for really in here? Why would someone hide something so important in a prison?"

"Who will be stupid enough to break into a prison?" the rat retorted.

"Us apparently," she huffed.

Robert rolled his eyes and continued their search. After a few moments, his tablet started beeping wildly. "This is it," he said as he put away his device.

"Congratulations," Nerela complained with her arms crossed. "You found a wall."

The two stared at the blank, gray prison wall for a moment before facing each other.

"Well?" said the ever-impatient lightning nymph.

"Patience," the rat scientist gently chided as he pulled out a small circular metal device and attached it to the wall. Robert pressed a button on the side and the device's LED screen lit up and started counting down from two minutes.

"We need to be at least ten feet away," Robert said as he quickly turned on his heels.

"Why's that?"

"Trust me when I say that being caught up in an explosion is not a pleasant experience."

With that Nerela quickly followed him.

When they were at a safe distance Robert instructed Nerela to cast _Protect_ on them so they won't be hit by debris and shrapnel. While Nerela was casting her spell, Robert cast his own; a spell called _Soundproof_. Several magic blue orbs flew out of his hand and merge into one giant ball. The ball then stretch and contorted itself to form a barrier protecting him and Nerela.

The countdown on the explosive device reached zero and the whole wall exploded. Robert and Nerela could feel the heat and the shockwave from the explosion. The blast was so powerful that Nerela's _Protect_ shattered.

When the smoke cleared, Robert's _Soundproof_ barely held up. With a wave of his hand the spell crumbled and dissolved.

"Now do you see why we had to wait till the soldiers left before we could do this," Robert remarked as he fan the smoke away with his hand. The rat peered through the dust cloud and saw a gaping hole in the wall. On the other side of the wall was a secluded room.

Nerela coughed violently as she fanned the smoke and dust from the explosion away. "What the hell?!" she coughed. "We could have used a portal to enter that room!"

"The room was sealed off by magic," Robert explained. "The only way to get in is through forceful means. Besides, I enjoy a good explosion every now and then, don't you?"

Nerela rolled her eyes shook her head. "Men…," she said under her breath, "No matter what the species."

They stepped into the once sealed off room and took a good look around. The room was filled with forgotten scientific wonders deem too dangerous for the world. Everything including the walls and ceiling was covered in gray dust and debris because of the explosion. It was hard to make out what was what.

Robert zeroed in on an object sitting on a small table in the back of the room. The object on the table was a great spherical container. The diameter of the container was around two feet, had a white metallic finish, and a black electronic lock on the top of it.

Robert plugged his phone into the lock and tried to hack into it. "No doubt we've set off the silence alarm by coming into this forbidden storage room," the rat scientist said as he continued hacking. "We'll have to leave this place soon."

The electronic lock flashed a green light and the top half of the container began to lift itself up. A cold, smoky gas poured from the inside of the container; no doubt put there to keep the contents cold. In the center of the sphere was a glass orb and within it was a glowing shard. It wasn't a very big shard; only four inches long and two inches wide. It had a jagged appearance like broken glass and its color kept changing from yellow to green to blue to purple. Sometimes the shard will turn black with thousands of tiny blue lights floating inside of it.

"Bingo." Robert grabbed it and smiled at Nerela. "Our job here is done."

Nerela, however, was disappointed and angry. "That's it?!" she yelled. "A glowing piece of glass?! We waited for days for some defective glow-stick?!"

"Obviously, you don't know what this is," he said as he pocketed the shard. "It's a fragment of the Cornerstone of Light. The scientist of this world performed experiments on several shards hoping they could find a way to extend the effects of the Cornerstone to other worlds or even create another Cornerstone.

"Their efforts had failed however, but they accidently created something far more powerful." The rat laughed to himself. "The fools didn't know what kind of power this shard possesses. They couldn't do anything with it so they locked it away as a failed, dangerous experiment.

"But I know what to do with the shard, Nerela. I know what kind of potential it can have."

"So what can it do?" the blonde wasn't impressed by Robert speech.

"Let's just say that when me, Xanatos Industries, and Massive Dynamic finish building the machine the Xehanort had commissioned, and we use the shard as its power source, we don't have to fear anything anymore. The Keybladers of Light will be but annoying fleas to us."

The two dark keybladers then heard the sound of heavy armor and rushing feet heading their way.

"The guards respond to the alarm rather quickly," Robert clicked his tongue. "I wasn't expecting them to respond so soon. Damn, and because of the wards in the prison we can't use magic to escape. There is one option available to us; Nerela, you have to kill them all. No one can know that we were here."

Nerela flashed a sociopathic smile as she summoned her dark keyblade. "Finally, one of us does something productive!" she yelled as she rushed into battle.

Robert shook his head as he pulled out his tablet. "I will take care of the security camera footage while you're having 'fun,'" he called out.

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor woke up in the white snow feeling lightheaded; his mind in a fog. He took his time to get up, for his body ached. The cold, crisp air was surprisingly filled with the scent of evergreens. This was strange to the keyblader since he didn't remember seeing any trees before he passed out. He slowly opened his eyes and was blinded a little by the sun's light reflected off the snow. He quickly shut his eyes, tilted his head up some more, and tried again.

The keyblader saw that he was no longer on a mountain going through a snow storm, but was in an evergreen forest. It seems like he was in a clearing and tried to look for a way out. He reached out to lean against a tree, but was stunned to feel metal. Trevor quickly took a step back and looked. He saw it, but he could not believe it; in the middle of the forest was an old-fashion lamppost. The keyblader could not find a logical explanation for this and yet it seemed so familiar to him. He stared at the flame of the lamppost and was mesmerized. Because his mind was still in a fog he couldn't remember that his friends were in danger; though a small part of him felt some urgency and tried to will the rest of him to leave.

"….Trevor…"

The keyblader got goose pimples when he thought he heard his name being called. He looked around and found no one so he shrugged it off thinking it was just the wind.

"Trevor…"

The second time, Trevor knew it wasn't the wind. He looked around frantically and saw no one. "Hello?" he called out. "Is anyone there?"

"So it is you, Trevor, traveler of worlds." The voice was warm and feminine. The trees themselves seem to sway and hum with the voice. "It has been ages since we last met. Now you have the weapon of your brother. You have become one of the bearers of the key."

Every word the voice spoke dripped in Trevor's ear like honey. It was also impossibly smooth and soothing. There was a regal-ness to the voice, like a queen speaking to her faithful servant. Yet something within Trevor warned him not to be fool by the voice.

"Who are you?" Trevor demanded to know. "Where is this place and how you found out about me and my brother?"

A whimsical carefree laugh fluttered about the clearing. "You, your brother, I, and a few others witness the birth of this world. It was eons ago, and I thought that you and your brother would have passed on from this mortal coil before the first age of this land reached its zenith. However, t'was true that those who exist outside this world are not bound by its rules of time. Fortune smiled upon me when your heart answered my call. I implore you key bearer, wielder of the key, custodian of the universe's secrets, return to Narnia and save it from its impending doom. Only you have the power to do so."

Trevor's mind was doing backflips. He wasn't sure what to make the best of the situation. _'Me and my brother witnessed the birth of a world?'_ he thought. _'Even with amnesia, you would think I would remember that. Narnia… That name sounds so familiar… Damn, I hate having amnesia!'_

"Why Narnia is in danger," Trevor asked the voice. "Why only I can save it?"

"Before my reign this world was untamed and wild, but I have restored order to this land and rule benevolently. I have ruled this world for years and brought it peace, but alas, an ancient prophecy threatens my sovereignty. Even though I have great power and the ability to do wondrous acts, I cannot stop the prophecy from coming to pass now that I am a part of this world. You however, dear bearer of the key, are not part of this world and can alter the events of this kingdom if you wish."

Trevor remembered the time he was on the world _The Big Apple_ and two young soothsayers told him that being on the world and meddling can drastically alter the world's future. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a tall, statuesque woman disappear behind one of the many trees.

"For your services, I could remedy the situation that ails you," the voice said sending a chill down Trevor's spine. "I know that you are forced to share your heart with another and that your own soul has been tainted with a dark power. Come to my aid, come to this world's aid and I will make you whole again. You will no longer have to fear your soul or your other again."

Suddenly the wind changed. A strong, warm east wind blew into the area. Much of the fog in Trevor's mind began to clear up and the pain within his body seemed to decrease.

"No, it cannot be," the voice was now filled with dread. "This is my land now! This world is yours no longer!" With every word the voice grew fainter as if the person the voice belonged to was running away.

The keyblader didn't know what was going on, but he felt a great presence behind him. Before he could turn around he heard a mighty roar and the earth seem to shift beneath him.

Trevor awoke in a dark, icy cave where the only source of light was a small blazing fire near him. He woke up with such a start and was so disorientated that he wasn't scared by the three monsters that surrounded him.

All three of the monsters jumped back startled by the human's sudden awakening.

"These humans will be the death of me, I know it," a small, round, green Cyclops said to no one in particular. "That is, if you don't kill me first with your nonsense!" It pointed to a large blue monster with covered in purple polka dots.

"I was trying to do the right thing, Mike, and you know it," the blue monster said. "Boo deserves to go home like everyone else. What we need to do is find a way to travel back to our world so we can stop Waternoose and Randall, and save Boo."

"Hard to do that when you two are exiled," the yeti said nonchalantly. "My poor cousin, Bigfoot took being exile real hard. He made a diaper out of poison oak and wore it like a tiara on head; called himself King Itchy…"

"Where am I?" the keyblader stood up. "This isn't Narnia, is it?" The monsters gasped as if they were scared of him.

"This is the Himalayas, kid," the yeti said after a long pause. "I don't know what 'Narnia' is. Is that where you came from?"

Trevor sighed deeply and rubbed his temples. "No, no it isn't. That dream was so real… But maybe it was a vision… Could it be that… No, that's impossible, the Jadis can't enter Narnia for hundreds of years and it's been less than eleven years since the silver apple tree has been planted."

The three monsters watched the human in amazement as he paced around. "What's this stupid human talking about?!" Mike yelled after losing patience.

"Uh? Sorry. I was just thinking out loud," Trevor said a bit embarrassed.

"You're not afraid of us?" the blue monster asked the keyblader.

"Hardly," Trevor laughed. "I've seen so many weird things and creatures on my travels that all of yours appearances don't even phase me."

"See, SEE?!" Mike yelled as he pointed at Trevor. "It's because of humans like him that we have a scare shortage!"

"Scare shortage?" Trevor scratched his head. "I don't understand."

"Our world is powered by screams," the blue monster explained. "In order to get those screams, professional scarers travel to the human world to scare children so we can collect the power of their screams."

"I'm not sure how to respond to that…," Trevor said honestly. "I'm Trevor, by the way."

"My name is Sulley," the blue monster greeted him. "And this is my friend, Mike," he gestured toward the strange Cyclops being.

"Ex-friend!" Mike yelled and pointed an accusing finger at Sulley. "You got us exiled for coming in contract and harboring a human child! Everything that we both work so hard for has been shattered!"

Trevor looked toward the yeti for an explanation, but the abominable snowman just shrugged.

"Anyway, this is important," Trevor said after taking another deep breath. "Do any of you know how to get off this world? My friends are in danger and it is vital that I get back to them."

"If we can leave this world then we would have done so already!" Mike grumbled.

"It looks like we are all in the same boat," the yeti clasped his hands together hoping to defuse the tension in the cave. "Now who wants a snow cone?"

The keyblader, however, had other things on his mind. "I could open a corridor with my keyblade; however it could be risky, very risky."

"_Then why not use me,"_ said a dark voice within him. A chill ran through Trevor's spine and his heart dropped. _"Long time, no talk,"_ his inner Bleak mocked him.

'_What do you want?!'_ Trevor projected his thoughts at the Bleak. _'I don't need your help!'_

"_But I'm afraid you do,"_ the Bleak said. _"You have no way to get back to Disney Castle and your friends are about to get obliterated. Don't be proud, Trevor. Sometimes one must swallow the hard pill."_

'_You're only going to take over my body again! I won't allow that to happen! Besides, those two monsters said that they don't belong to this world. If I help them then maybe…'_

"_You can't save everyone!"_ the Bleak yelled within him. _"Who knows how long it will take to help those buffoons! Every minute you spend playing with the monsters is another minute of that woman torturing your friends! Now ask yourself, who has the highest priority?"_

Trevor couldn't deny that his friends and allies meant more to him than the monsters. He tried to weight his options, but he felt the pressure to make a snap decision. _'Alright, tell me how to get to Disney Castle without taking control of my body.'_

If Trevor didn't know better he could have sworn he felt his Bleak smirk. _"Summon your keyblade and hold it in front of you."_

Trevor did as he was told and the three monsters yelped in amazement.

"Like I said, these humans will be the death of me," Mike said as he put his hand on his head as if he has a headache.

"That's an impressive trick," Sulley said.

"It's no trick," Trevor said. "Hopefully it will guide me back to my friends."

"_You probably know why we can't travel using in the Lanes Between,"_ the Bleak spoke within Trevor. _"The Lanes Between are dangerous because they are support by untainted darkness and the more you use it, the more it will eat slowly away at your heart. Without armor traversing them could be dangerous for you; especially since you don't have any armor to protect yourself and that you don't know how far this world is away from Disney Castle."_

'_So what do you propose?'_

"_A gateway: a wormhole of sorts. We are going to bend and fold up the space between here and Disney Castle to make an instantaneous shortcut. Before we can do that, we must first locate the world. Allow you mind to go blank and allow yourself to be a conduit for the entire universe."_

The keyblader took a deep breath and allow his thoughts to go blank. After a short while he could feel the mass number of worlds in the multi-verse; every one of them far away and yet he felt that he can connect with them using his power.

"_Now seek out Disney Castle. This should be easy for you since you already been to that world. Feel the world's energy and pinpoint it."_

Trevor could sense a lot of worlds. Some of them he been to before: Saint Canard, Radiant Garden, The Big Apple, but none of them were Disney Castle. Finally he felt a world emitting a strong light in the eastern quadrant of the multi-verse sky. Trevor knew that was Disney Castle.

"_Good,"_ his Bleak sounded pleased. _"Now focus on that world. Imagine that there are no borders or boundaries separating this world from that world. It's not enough for you to think it, you got to believe it!"_

Trevor concentrated with all his might and believed with all his heart. The light of Disney Castle seemed to grow brighter and brighter as if it was coming toward him. Soon, in his mind, it seemed like he was standing next to a wall of light. Before Trevor could celebrate, he felt an icy tug on his heart. His whole body was going stiff and he felt an all too familiar dark power rise up within him. _'You said you wouldn't try to take over me!'_

"I never promised such a thing," the Bleak laughed as his takeout became complete.

Trevor's Bleak transformed the keyblade into his own dark one, raised it above his head, and brought it crashing down to the ground. The air sliced open when he did so and the tear in space became larger and larger until a doorway was formed. The Bleak could see the Audience Room through the doorway. He cracked a smile and started to walk towards it.

"Way to go!" Sulley said as he approached Trevor's Bleak. "With that power of yours we can get back to our home world!"

The keyblader, however, knocked the monster down to ground. "This portal is not for you." Trevor's Bleak then entered the magic doorway and closed it behind him.

**KH-KH-KH**

Things were not faring well in Disney Castle. The Bleak known as Olivia Dunham had the upper hand on the warriors. Using telekinesis, she tossed Miranda and Kairi to the adjacent wall. Peg and Scrooge tried to blast her, but she tossed them onto Fenton, who was fumbling with his blaster.

"None of you are that much of a challenge…," Olivia sighed and she contemplated what to do next. "I suppose now is a good time as any to destroy you."

"Fenton," Scrooge whispered to the awkward duck. "I think now is the perfect time for you-know-who to show up."

"B-b-but there are too many people here," Fenton whimpered. "What about my secret identity?"

"Soon, none of us will have an identity of any kind if she kills us!" Scrooge hissed. "As your boss, I order you to transform NOW!"

Fenton took a deep breath to stop himself from shaking. He didn't like his boss's idea, but he knew that he doesn't have a choice. The duck steeled himself for what's to come. "Blathering–"

A boom echoed throughout the room and a tear in space appeared. The tear formed itself into a large magic doorway and Trevor walked through it.

"Trevor?" Miranda said with joy. "Trevor, I'm so glad you'r—" She stopped when she looked into his eyes and saw the keyblade that he was wielding. "You're not Trevor. You're his inner Bleak."

"Always the smart one," Trevor's Bleak spat sarcastically. He then turned his attention toward Olivia. "So you're the one who causing all of trouble. Are you ready for round two?"

"What is this?" Olivia stared at the dark keyblader. "Your power is that of a Bleak and yet you still have your heart and body. What are you?"

"I'm a Bleak just like you, but if you want to be technical I have been called a Forlorn. But enough talking; let's fight!" He lifted his keyblade and cast _Blizzaga_. The spell soar toward the Bleak, but Olivia dodged it.

"Anxious to die, are we?" Olivia said. "Then allow me to grant your wish!" She disappeared and reappeared behind the Forlorn, but before she could make a move, the keyblader easily blocked her attack.

"I'm not going to fall for the same tactic twice," the keyblader told her. Quick as lightning, he tried to attack her, but the Bleak was able to dodge.

Olivia teleported some distance away and readied her next attack. Using pyrokinesis she created a small ball of fire. She threw the ball of flame down to the ground and it spun rapidly toward the Forlorn zigzagging along its erratic path.

The dark keyblader tried to dodge, but the attack honed in on him. There was a huge explosion and everyone thought that Trevor was finished. When the smoke cleared, however, the Forlorn was still standing surrounded by the dark purple magical barrier. He then shattered his barrier and launched the fragments at the Bleak.

The woman Bleak teleported across the room again, but this time when she reappeared a magic circle appeared on the floor surrounding her. She tried to teleport away, but couldn't.

"Gotcha," the Forlorn exclaimed. "I've sealed away your annoying ability to teleport. It's time to finish you off." He pointed his dark keyblade at Olivia and gathered all the dark energy around him into a massive dark blue sphere at the tip of his keyblade. He launched the massive ball of energy at the Bleak and his victory seemed assured.

At the last moment, Olivia set up a force field dispersing the spell. She then pointed her finger at Fenton and duck was magically pulled into the fray.

Fenton, of course, was terrified. He no longer has any control over his body as Olivia was using telepathy and telekinesis to move him around like a puppet. "Wah! Somebody help!" the duck cried out as the Bleak manipulated him. "I can't control myself; literally!"

As the Forlorn tried to attack the Bleak, Olivia manipulated Fenton to come between them. Not caring who was in the way, the Forlorn brought his keyblade crashing down on the poor duck. Thankfully for Fenton, Olivia made him catch the blade before it could hit him on the head.

"If you think using this duck as a shield is enough to deter me from fighting you, then you are mistaken," the Forlorn spoke. "I will cut down anyone in my way. Your tricks won't work on me."

Using telekinesis, the Bleak tossed Fenton aside and charged straight at her opponent. She tried using her powers to toss the dark keyblader away psychic, but the Forlorn amazing held his ground.

The Forlorn fired a _Dark Firga_ spell at Olivia which exploded and sent shockwaves around the room, shaking the walls. The two dark beings then went all out, striking each other blow after blow with amazing speed. It was hard to catch up with their movements since they were moving so fast, but occasionally one of their spells or psionic conjurings went haywire and was sent crashing through the floor, wall, window, or ceiling. Their dark energy seemed to pour out of them and fill the entire castle.

"They're goin' to destroy the castle at this rate," Scrooge warned the company of heroes as another one of Olivia's pyrokinetic blast went awry. "We need a way to destroy the Bleak and stop Trevor."

"But they're both too powerful!" Bonkers said. "If we try to do one, the other with destroy us."

"And I doubt even Gizmoduck can help," Fenton added hoping his boss doesn't send him into the fray.

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait for the ceiling to collapse on our heads," Peg fumed. "Does anyone actually have a plan?!"

As she was staring at the Bleak and the Forlorn fight each other to the death, Miranda was listening to her teammates' concern. She hoped and prayed that Trevor would quickly come out of it; that the keyblader will grab control of that horrid entity inside of him. But this time was different. She saw no end to the madness; she thought that whoever Trevor was as a person was consumed by his inner Bleak. The cop slowly steeled herself and unsheathed her katana.

"There's only one thing to do…," Miranda said sadly. "…I must destroy them both…"

"Miranda," Bonkers said shocked, "You can't mean that."

"I do, Bonkers. I'll do it alone… Let me handle this."

"No, you can't!" Kairi yelled, ran up, and grabbed the blonde's arm. "You can't do that to your friend. Not when he needs you the most."

"What will you have me do?!" Miranda yelled with tears in her eyes. "If I could save him I would! If I could heal him I would have! If I knew of a way to purify his soul, then I wouldn't rest until I did! But I know no other way… Kairi, I wish I did." She broke down and was on her knees grasping at the redhead's shirt. "I wish there was another way… How can you think that I didn't?"

Kairi felt sorry for the cop, but knew there must be a better way. "I think I can help everybody, but Miranda I need your help."

"…What are you planning to do?" the blonde questioned not wanting to get her hopes up.

"A while ago, on another world, I learn to cast a powerful spell. It might be powerful enough to stop the Bleak and bring Trevor back to his senses. But I need some time to cast the spell and for both of them to be in the same spot. I need to create a diversion and distract them. Can you do that for me?"

The cop nodded her head. "Yes, but are you sure it will work?"

"It has to work," Kairi insisted.

Miranda nodded in agreement, placing her faith on the princess of heart. "Here I go." She ran out the fighting duo, determined to bring Trevor back to his sense. "Hey you two!" she called out. The Bleak and the Forlorn stopped fighting for a second and stared at her confused and annoyed. "Eat this: **Zeninage!**" Miranda tossed thousands of munny at the two causing a significant amount of damage.

"You made a big mistake, miss," Olivia said as she and the Forlorn turned toward the cop ready to attack.

Before they could retaliate, Kairi snuck behind them and unleashed her spell. "**Holy!**" she chanted and a giant beam of white light engulf all three of them.

As the spell took effect, Kairi was struck by a vision. She saw herself standing on the beach of the Destiny Islands talking to Riku. "Come on, Kairi," Riku told her. "I'm going to take you to Yen Sid." The vision ended and when she opened her eyes found herself on floor being helped up by Peg. She turned around and saw Trevor semi-conscious, but back to normal.

"Hmm… Wha-?" Trevor rubbed his head as both Miranda and Bonkers lifted him to his feet. "Kairi, what did you do? The Bleak inside me… It's still there, but I can no longer hear it. It's like it's buried somewhere deep inside."

"I used a spell called _Holy_," the princess of heart answered. "This is my third time using the spell. The first time was when Sora and I was in the Divine Wisdom Drive Form. The second time I used it on the Oakley Oaks. It was a long shot, but I just figured if I used a less intense version of the spell it might be able to help you."

'_Holy?_' Trevor thought. _'That's impossible. Only the members of the Willow family know the spell. Could it be that Kairi is…? No, that can't be… Can it?'_

The group heard a small groan and turned to see that Olivia was no longer a Bleak. Her obsidian hair became blonde, her green clothes turn black, and her skin turned back to her original color. She slowly picked herself up and rubbed her temples. "What the hell just happened?" The FBI agent looked down on herself and saw that she was no longer a restless dark soul known as the Bleak. "How did this happen? I'm back to normal."

"So it is possible to turn Bleak back into normal humans," Trevor mused aloud, but it was directed toward Olivia. "So, now that you are free, are you for us or against us?"

"I mean you no harm," Agent Olivia told them all. "When I was…that thing I couldn't control myself. I only remember bits and pieces of it, but it was like all I feel was rage and hunger. To be honest all I want is to get back home."

"How did you become a Bleak?" Kairi asked.

Olivia thought for a minute trying to gather and piece together all of her memories. "Peter and I were investigating a lead in a case we were working on when these black creatures attacked us; Heartless I think you call them. One of them ran right at me, I reached for my gun, but I didn't reach fast enough. The rest was a blur. I remember hearing a voice, but—"

Suddenly the whole castle lurched. The sickening feeling of free-fall overcame the group as their minds raced.

"Now what's goin' on?!" Peg yelled pissed and had her blaster ready.

Only Olivia had knew what happened and her eyes widen in realization. "Oh no, the castle is falling! When I was a Bleak I was using my powers to levitate the castle, but now there is nothing holding it up!"

"Well, can't you use your powers to stop the castle from falling?!" Trevor questioned in a panic.

"As a Bleak I had free access to my Cortexiphan powers, but now, in this state, I can only use them when I'm scared."

"We're in a castle thousands of feet in the air, plummeting down to earth, and you tell us you're not afraid!" Miranda said in disbelief.

"I've been in so many odd and strange situations that it's hard for me to be afraid anymore," Agent Olivia confessed.

"Then allow me to reintroduce you to the meaning of fear," said a gruff voice. Everyone turned to the entryway and saw Zeke, clad in armor with his giant keyblade in hand.

**KH-KH-KH**

A short while ago Cynthia's team, Team B, snuck their way into the gummi ship hanger desperately trying not to get caught. Max took point, since he knew the layout of the castle the best. They didn't get far into the hanger when Max stopped them and told PJ to help him open an air vent grate. They all crawled into the air vent one by one; it was barely wide enough the broad-shouldered Launchpad to crawl through.

It was so uncomfortable in the vents. It was very hard to move around and the fear of becoming stuck forever loomed in their minds. Even though they were trying their best to remain silent they couldn't help but make some noise moving through the metallic ducts. It was a wonder to Cynthia that they haven't been caught yet. The real uncomfortable part was climbing up a vertical shaft trying to reach the second floor. It took all of their muscle to scale their way up in such a confine space.

Only one person was taking this all in a stride and that was Darkwing Duck. "This reminds me of the time Launchpad and I had to sneak in the abandon fertilizer factory to stop Bushroot," Darkwing explained.

"I remember the ducts being a lot less cramp in there than in here, DW," Launchpad commented as he struggled to move forward.

"Bushroot was planning to turn all of St. Canard into mutant plant hybrids like him," the masked mallard continued.

"The poor guy was just lonely," Launchpad added. "So when we arrested him I introduced him to D-Harmony, a dating website."

"Oh yeah… And he met that one crazy woman. Poor Bushroot, she was only dating him to get close to Megavolt."

After much struggling, the group finally arrived at their destination. Max pushed out the grate in front of him and crawled out to one of the hidden hallways on the second floor. He proceeded to help the others struggle out of the vent. Needless to say, everyone was happy to be free from their cramp enclosures.

"Which way do we go, Max? Most likely Zeke and Mortimer are hiding in the royal panic room," Cynthia asked the dog-teen.

"We continue down this hallway where we will wind up in the servants' panic room," Max explained. "Unfortunately, we then must go out to one of the main hallways and enter the Oratory. It is there we'll find the hidden entrance to the king's panic room."

Cynthia clicked her tongue; she didn't like the idea that they would have to use the main hallway. "Is there any way we don't have to use the main hallway?"

"I'm afraid not," Max shook his head.

"When we're out in the main hallway how long will it take us to reach the Oratory?"

"About a minute and a half if we run."

The keyblader bit her lip. "We have to risk it. We have no time to lose; Come on!"

They all ran down the empty hidden corridor determine to end this secret war. When they arrived to what looked like a dead end, Max knelt down and pressed a concealed button at the bottom right corner of the wall. The dead end opened up revealing a very well furnished room that was more fit in being a small entertaining area than a panic room.

Team B was about to enter the room when they spotted someone already in the chamber. His back was turned on them, looking through a small window in the room. He dusted off the left shoulder of the blue cloak he was wearing before talking.

"Truly amazing isn't it?" the stranger said not turning to face them. Still looking out the window, the stranger just gazed out looking at the curvature of the world. "This castle is floating so high we might leave this world's atmosphere; maybe the whole world all together. Ever wonder if a castle could serve as a gummi ship?" Zackary turned around and flash a million dollar smile at Cynthia. "I guess we are about to find out."

"It's you!" Cynthia summoned her weapon and the others did the same. "I should have known you were behind this coup!"

"Whatever madness that is taking place in this world I assure you I have nothing to do with it," Zackary spoke causally. "I was just looking for someone; a keyblader known as Kyle. However, I now see that he hasn't been on this world. I was about to take my leave. Now, if you would excuse me."

"Stop right there," Cynthia ordered as the older keyblader started to leave. "You're not getting away that easy. You still have to answer for your crimes."

"Crimes? What crimes?" Zackary shrugged innocently. "I have committed no crimes. Unless, trying to save the universe is a crime."

"Really? I heard that you and your group were trying to wipe out whole worlds."

"_False_ worlds," Zackary emphasized. "You have left out the crucial word. Those worlds were never supposed to exist, Cynthia. They and the people living on them are but mere shadows; crude and fictional wraiths pretending to be the real McCoy. All I want to do is bring back all the people and worlds still trapped within the darkness. They are the ones that need to be free. They are the ones that need to be rescued. If sacrificing a counterfeit to save the original is a crime, then I guess I am a criminal."

"Such pretty and powerful words; too bad they are full of crap," Cynthia spat. "With words like that it's a wonder why you are not a politician."

"And ruin my family's good name," the dark keyblader laughed. "I think I rather be an honest criminal."

"This isn't a game!" Cynthia yelled. "You are playing with people's lives! You don't get to decide whose life is more valuable! You—"

"Suddenly an all-encompassing dark aura surrounded the castle. Max, PJ, and the others could barely feel it, but Cynthia and Zackary felt the intensity of the aura.

"What is that?" Cynthia asked in a harsh whisper.

"Huh. I didn't know that Trevor was on this world," Zackary mused to himself. "That Forlorn mode of his is very powerful…"

"What are you talking about," Cynthia demanded to know. "Trevor doesn't have a dark aura like that!"

"Actually he does," the dark keyblader said nonchalantly. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes not believing what they are hearing. "What, you didn't know that? Then allow me enlighten you. My baby brother is a Forlorn; a person with a Bleak for a soul. I don't know how he got that way, but being such a hybrid gives him amazing burst of power. Unfortunately sometimes the Bleak inside of him takes control, which I imagine is what's happening now."

"He didn't tell us about this," Cynthia said shocked. "Trevor never told us what he actually was…"

"Is it any surprise?" Zackary huffed. "He's probably afraid that all of you will treat him as a freak or as an enemy."

Cynthia shook with rage as she tried to keep it bottled up. This was too much to handle; by failing to disclose this information Trevor could have jeopardize the whole mission. And now she has to deal with his fool of a brother. "I'm starting to hate all of you Birches," she said in a whisper.

A bright white light then enveloped Cynthia, Max, and PJ. They fused together and when the light died down, Cynthia was in her new Drive Form; the _Luna Crescendo Drive Form_. She was clad in brightly polished silver armor that sparkled brilliantly with a flowing pure white cape. On her gauntlets and on the back of her cape was a stylize symbol of the crescent moon. Her keyblade was white like ivory and its stem was like three vines delicately intertwining with each other. The teeth of the weapon a white rose in full bloom while the guard of the keyblade was the elegant roots of the vines fashioned into the shape of a heart. The keychain was a silver metallic string that shimmered like diamonds and was attached to a token in the shape of a star. The name the keyblade was _Selene's Garden_. Her and her weapon gave off a soft warm glow. Never before Cynthia felt this kind of power surging within her.

"So you have a drive form," Zackary whistled. "Not bad. But it's a shame too… I guess I'm ready am not getting out of here without a fight." Zackary summoned his keyblade and Cynthia was dismayed when she saw it wasn't his original keyblade _Integrity_. His new keyblade was much darker with black thorny vines wrapped around the stem of the weapon. The guard and the hilt of the keyblade was jagged, sharp, and crooked giving it a foul appearance. The teeth of the weapon were an outstretched bird's wing skeleton. A scraggy rope served as the keychain attached a broken heart token. The overall appearance of the keyblade looked like it was choking the life out of the old keyblade, _Integrity_. "_Frantic Revolt_, let's do our best," he talked to his keyblade.

Cynthia shook her head. "So much power and you waste it on silliness. We're going to mop the floor with you!"

Zackary shook his finger at her. "Now, now. This is between you and me. Five against one hardly seem fair, now does it?" He extended his keyblade and cast, "**White Noise.**" Without warning, Horace, Clarabelle, Darkwing, and Launchpad collapsed on the floor and wouldn't move. Cynthia was in shock, but Zackary waved off her concern. "Relax, they're still alive. _White Noise_ is a spell that cuts off every one of the opponent's senses. Sight, touch, smell, even their sense of balance is gone. They are trapped within their own minds until the spell wears off; unable to communicate with anyone."

"You will pay for that," Cynthia spoke as she glowed more brightly. She extended her keyblade in front of her as mana swirl around her. "_Moonlight Symphony: __**Waning Gibbous!**_" she yelled as she cast the first spell in her life.

A fireball shot out of the tip of her keyblade and streaked straight toward its target. Zackary was so surprised by the turn of events he didn't have the chance to dodge. The spell hit him and his was slammed against the wall. The enchantment hurt like heck and a familiar feeling of nausea come over him. "The spell infects Poison?" Zackary staggered to his feet. "No matter; such things are easily remedied." He cast _Poisona_ on himself and the feeling of nausea dissipated. He was still stunned that he felt weak as if his strength was still being drain. "I see…," he said after reaching a conclusion. "The spell also infects Sap. You have become dangerous." The dark keyblader quickly cast _Esuna_ and all negative effects were removed.

"That Drive Form gives you the power to cast spells…," Zackary mused. "I must admit, I didn't prepare myself for that. This fight could be a lot tougher than I imagine."

"You got that right!" Cynthia yelled as she lifted her keyblade in the air. "**Thundaga!**" she cast, but nothing happened. "Blizzara? Fire?"

A smile spread across Zackary's face. "So I see. That makes sense. The only magic you can use in that form is magic based on the phases of the moon. That makes defeating you a little easier. **Contorting Chains!**" he cast and several magic chains burst from the floor and dart toward Cynthia seeking to ensnare her.

The keyblader of light jumped high in the air to avoid the chains, but they only followed her. With her keyblade she dispatched them all; every chain she sliced dissolved in the air. When the last chain was destroyed she dove hoping to strike Zackary from above.

"Attacking from the air won't save you!" Zackary yelled. "**Gravity Well!**"

Cynthia was instantly brought crashing to the ground as a column of dark purple energy enveloped her. The spell was painful; it felt as if three giant boulders were bearing down on her back. She struggled to lift herself up, but even the smallest movement was excruciating. Still she didn't give up; she was determined to not let Zackary get the best of her. With every fiber of her being she slowly got on one knee. Already tired she used her keyblade as support and got on her other knee.

"My, my; look how strong you are," Zackary mused. "I've always wonder what kind of keyblader you will turn out to be and here I am testing the limits of your powers. I must say, you're a better sparring partner than Trevor."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Cynthia promised. "_Symphonic Rewrite: __**Zero Graviga!**_" The keyblader had rewritten the spell that trapped her and send it hurling toward Zackary and his smug face.

Zackary only smile and cast "**Reflect!**" before _Zero Graviga_ could hit him. The spell bounced off the dark keyblader's magical barrier and was flung back at Cynthia.

"You're kidding me…," Cynthia cursed under her breath as she was trying the gather together her strength. "_Moonlight Symphony: __**Waxing Crescent!**_" A barrier made of ice crystals in the form of a snowflake arose before her eyes and block the reflected spell. Cynthia was relieved, but felt like she was going to faint. "Is…that…all you got…," she panted.

The dark keyblader studied her for a moment before opening a dark corridor and turn to leave.

"Come back," Cynthia staggered to her feet. "Come back and fight me!"

Zackary sighed and gave the younger keyblader a look. "You are in no condition to fight. It was a valiant effort; for your first _real_ keyblader duel. However, I've wasted enough time on you as it is. Furthermore, it will be a shame to defeat you before you reached the zenith of your abilities. Battle, Cynthia; become stronger and face me when you do. On that day, prove to me that I was right in giving you the power of the keyblade." He walked into the corridor of darkness and disappeared.

"Damn!" Cynthia cursed. "Damn, I wasn't able to stop him!" She looked around at her fallen comrades and wanted to help them, but her strength was fading fast. She had enough energy for one more spell. "_Moonlight Symphony: __**Full Moon**_," she cast and the whole room shimmered in a soft warm light. Her allies began to stir as her healing spell took hold. As the light died down, her Drive Form ended and she split into Max, PJ, and herself once again.

Horace Horsecollar was the first one to be fully alert. The horse shivered a little thinking about the hell he was trapped in moments ago. "What happened?" he asked. "One moment we were here and then there was only darkness."

"It was like being paralyzed, but much worse," Darkwing Duck added. "I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything… For a moment I thought I was dead."

"It was Zackary doing," Cynthia managed to get out. "He's gone now…, but I couldn't defeat him." She slipped and fell on the floor. Everybody rushed to help her and Launchpad gave her a Mega Potion.

"Thanks, I needed that," Cynthia wiped her mouth when she finished gulping down the potion.

"What happened to that Zackary fellow?" Clarabelle inquired.

"He's gone; don't worry about it," the keyblader said sharply still ticked off that she didn't stop Zackary. "What matters now is the mission. We need to continue on."

Then Trevor's dark aura faded and the castle lurched.

"Uh, Cynthia," PJ said looking through the tiny window of the room. "I think the castle is falling back down to earth."

"What?!" Cynthia ran to the window and saw that PJ was right. "We definitely need to find and defeat Mortimer and Zeke now! Max, lead the way; hurry!"

Max quickly opened another secret door leading to the main hallway. The group quickly ran through it praying that they have enough time to defeat their enemies and make it out of this escalating situation alive.

**Next Chapter: Everything Hits the Fan (Part 2)**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

James P. Sullivan "Sulley": Monsters, Inc.(2001)

Mike Wazowski: Monsters, Inc.(2001)

The Abominable Snowman: Monsters, Inc.(2001)


	31. Everything Hits the Fan (Part 2)

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 30: Everything Hits the Fan (Part 2)**

Zeke strutted across the room with his giant keyblade resting on his shoulder. _Earthtremor_ was the keyblade's name and the name was appropriately given. The weapon was about a third taller than he was, the stem was fourteen inches in width, and was in the shape of a broadsword. The teeth of the weapon were a guillotine blade while the guard of the keyblade was made from ivory and struck out from the bottom of the hilt like two large tusks. The curious thing about the keyblade was not its size, but its keychain. Made from a black chain it must be the longest keychain Trevor ever saw on a keyblade. It was so long in fact that Zeke wrapped the excess chain around his waist four times and still had about five inches to spare which sway back and forth as the wolf walked. The token of _Earthtremor_ was a heavy looking metal sphere that looked more like a weight or counterweight than anything.

The wolf's armor was another sight. Its color was blood red and was made of many layer of tight fitting armor that fit the wolf like a glove. Even through the armor looks like it would be a hassle to move around it, Zeke was able to maneuver like he was wearing nothing at all. The only parts that weren't covered by the armor were is hands which were covered by his white gloves. He also had no helmet, but wore his beat up black top hat. Also on Zeke's person was a brown satchel tied to his waist.

"Well, ain't this a pretty sight," Zeke said in a gruff gravelly voice as he pointed his massive keyblade at everyone, "A bunch of sheep waitin' for me to gobble them up!"

"This flock of sheep is not going down without a fight!" Trevor yelled as he summoned his keyblade.

"Zeke, I presume," Miranda sneered as she readied her katana.

"You presume correctly, doll," the wolf winked, which cause Miranda wanting to gag. "Although, it's General Zeke now; I've promoted myself."

"We're takin' you and that blighter, Mortimer, down, Zeke," Scrooge yelled at the wolf. "This world only has one mouse king and it's not the rat that goes 'ha-cha-cha' every five seconds."

"He _does_ say that a lot; doesn't he?" Zeke mused to himself. He then turned his attention back to the group. "If ya think you have what it takes to defeat me," he spread his arms leaving himself wide open, "then come and get me. I'm waiting…"

"With pleasure," Trevor said. "**Thundaga!**" he cast.

"**Firaga!**" Bonkers added.

"**Diaga!**" Kairi casted her light spell.

The rest of the group, except Miranda, fired their blasters at the wolf. Even Agent Dunham took out her glock and fired.

Every attack connected with Zeke, but the wolf did not budge. When the bombardment was over, the wolf dusted himself off and smirked. "That tickles."

"Impossible…," Trevor said astonished. "But how…?"

"Wait a minute…," Kairi said. "Didn't Maleficent warn us that Zeke's armor was immune to magic?"

The wolf smiled broadly and knocked on his armor a few times. "Never leave home without it," he laughed. "Now it's my turn." He slammed his keyblade to the ground and the whole floor trembled. Trevor and his group tried to keep balance, but the mini quake had them stumbling all over themselves. Zeke smiled and decided it was time to kick it up another notch. "**Haste!**" he cast on himself. With his super speed, the wolf ran up to Trevor and looked down on him as the keyblader was trying to pick himself up.

"Wha-" said Trevor as he tried to attack, but was too late.

"Time to take ya out of the picture, kid, at least until I can give you the warrior's end you deserve." The wolf pointed his keyblade at Trevor. "**SLOW!**" he cast.

Everything around Trevor appeared to have sped up. Zeke and the others appear to be zipping across the room with amazing speed. As the keyblader got up, the people raced around faster and faster. Soon, everything seemed to melt together; there were no longer any distinct shapes, just blurs, smudges, and lines painting the environment around him. Then a red and pink blur appeared suddenly before him and rapidly waved another blur in front of him. Suddenly everything returned to normal and resumed their normal speed. Ecstatic that he was released from his temporal purgatory he saw Kairi standing before him.

"Are you okay?" Kairi asked him. "Sorry I couldn't get to you in time; Zeke has us all in a bind. I've used _Haste_ to counteract the _Slow_ spell Zeke used on you."

"How long was I out?" Trevor asked.

Kairi bit her lip. "About two-to-three minutes at least."

Trevor's mind did a backflip; it only seem like he was under the spell influence for a couple of seconds. He turned and saw his comrades fighting against the dark keyblader wolf. Despite being outnumbered, Zeke was able to put everybody on the defensive. Between his _Haste_ spells, the abilities to cause minor earthquakes, and his magic immune armor the wolf seemed to have the upper hand against the group.

Scrooge and Fenton was busying blasting away at the wolf praying they could change the tide of battle. "Fenton," Scrooge said to his accountant, "You have to change into Gizmoduck now and end this blasted battle!"

Fenton was a little sheepish to say the least. "B-b-but sir…" he tried to protest.

"Dang it, Fenton!" the rick duck yelled. "The situation is dire! This castle is falling back to earth and could crash any second! If there was a time of Gizmoduck, it would be now!"

Fenton nodded his head and took a deep breath. "Blathering Blatherskite!" A moment later after Fenton said those words pieces of armor and machinery burst through one of the windows and swirled around the duck. The pieces of technology began to attach themselves to Fenton cladding him in armor. When the process was finished Fenton was transformed into the crime fighter Gizmoduck. The suit of technological white armor had no legs or feet, but instead was balanced on a single tire. The chest had a monitor with all kinds of buttons along the sides of it with a stylistic red 'R' above it. Both gauntlets had an array of buttons on them which control several weapons. There was a curly antenna on the red stripped helmet and visor which was always down.

"Never fear, Gizmoduck is here," Fenton said in a deeper voice.

Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, Kairi, and Olivia had no clue what was going on, but Peg fell on the floor pointing hysterically at Gizmoduck in complete shock. "F-F-Fenton is Gizmoduck?" Peg stammered. "That bean counter is the super hero protector of Duckberg?!"

Zeke, however, was unimpressed. "Whoopee, you got yerself inside a tin can. So what?"

"So this!" Gizmoduck yelled and pushed one of the buttons on one of his gauntlets and fired a rocket at the wolf.

The wolf rolled his eyes. "Big deal. Like that's goin' to stop me. **Stop!**" he cast and the rocket stopped in midair only centimeters away from he. Zeke snatched the rocket and tossed it aside nonchalantly.

Needless to say, Gizmoduck was flustered. "Er…. Well…. Try this!" He pressed a button on his chest and a whole array of mini rockets fired at Zeke.

The wolf smirked and casted "**Stopga!**" Instantly all the rockets stopped in midair and fell unceremoniously to the ground.

Gizmoduck was at a loss of words, but Scrooge McDuck wasn't. "Stop firing missiles at him, you fool!" Scrooge yelled. "Get in there and attack him!"

"Er, right!" Gizmoduck then charged at the wolf who just yawned.

"I think ya gettin' too old to play with toys," Zeke taunted. "Time to put 'em away!" The armored duck tried to throw a punch, but the wolf dodged and knocked him clear across the room.

Gizmoduck tried to stagger back to his feet (eh…wheel?), but kept falling down. "Y-you won't defeat m-me that easy," the superhero tried to sound tough, but it's had to be threating when your head won't stop throbbing.

"Actually, I will," Zeke spoke confidently. "**Old!**"

Immediately Gimzoduck fell to the floor. All of his armor fell off revealing a rapidly aging Fenton. "I think I broke my hip…," Fenton said weakly.

"Enough of this!" Peg yelled as she cocked her blaster. "Let's hit him with everything we got!"

"But I can only use magic!" Bonkers complained. "And he's immune to magic!"

"Well then try harder!" the housewife yelled back. "Go down the list, try every element! He's gotta be weak against something!" And with that, she charged into battle with Miranda and Scrooge running besides her.

Olivia fell on her knees and wouldn't budge. Trevor ran to her to check up on her.

"Olivia is everything okay?" the keyblader questioned.

"Yes…," she started. "It's just that…" She shook her head and will herself to her feet. "This is not like me. I don't hesitate in the face of danger. But I'm afraid that I have gotten use to people backing me up, especially when weird things like this are happening. Dr. Bishop, Astrid, and… Peter. They all had my back, but now they are not with me… I'm just afraid that today really might be the day I die. And I really don't want to die on this strange world."

"But Olivia, we have you back. We're all scared, but we can't quit now. We just met, and for most of our time together you tried to kill us, but none of that matters now. We have a common enemy and we need to beat him!"

Meanwhile, everyone else was busy fighting Zeke. Bonkers cast _Blizzaga_, but the wolf shrugged it off and kept going. What they didn't realize that a small portion of Zeke's armor froze over. Peg fired her blaster and her shot hit the frozen area of the wolf's armor.

_Crack!_

The frozen area of the armor shattered and the broken pieces fell on the floor. Peg noticed this and a smile quickly spread her face. "Freeze the armor!" she announced. "And then blast it! It's brittle in a frozen state!"

Kairi and Bonkers didn't waste time as both of them started casting ice spells at the wolf.

"See?" Trevor said to Olivia. "Everything will be all— …! Wait a minute, Olivia; what did you said a couple of minutes ago?"

"That I felt that no one had my back," the FBI agent said.

"No, you said that you were scared. And didn't you said that your… cortexiphan powers thingy only works when you're scared? Can you use them to stop the castle from falling?"

"I don't know…," Olivia said truthfully. "When I was a Bleak my powers were amplified immensely. I don't think I have that kind of power."

"Then we need an amplifier of some kind…"

Then both Trevor and Olivia started glowing and were consumed by a bright light. When the light faded Trevor was standing there wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and black tie. Then he summoned a new keyblade that looked like a chrome spear that was greatly enhanced by technology. The stem of the weapon was covered by blue electronic circuits that softly light up every time power runs through them. At the end of the stem was a jagged spear point with the razor edge charged with sky blue plasma. A metal seahorse served as the teeth of the keyblade while the guard was in a straightforward white design. The keychain was a short silver metallic chain and the keyblade token was a small frog with the phi symbol on its back. The keyblade's name was _Fringe Theory_.

"_Cortexiphan Child Drive Form_," Trevor said. He lifted his keyblade up, pointed it at Zeke, and chanted: "**Galactic Freeze!**"

A cold harsh wind descended upon Zeke and ice crystal started to form all over his armor. He tried to smash the crystals with his keyblade, but his weapon was just too big. The ice crystals continue to expand and soon the wolf was entirely encased in ice unable to move.

Seizing this opportunity, Trevor cast another spell. "**Comet!**" A ball of cosmic energy burst forth from his keyblade and struck Zeke shattering both the ice and the armor.

The wolf grasped as he watched the pieces of his beloved armor fall to the floor exposing his tattered red overalls. Reacting quickly, he grabbed his weapon's keychain and started whirling the keyblade above his head as if it was a kusarigama. He threw his keyblade and it went sailing through the air heading for Trevor.

Trevor seemingly vanished before the weapon could hit him. As the wolf tugged on his keychain to make his weapon come back to him, Trevor appeared behind him.

"I've never seen a keyblade used like that before," he mused. The wolf tried to strike him, but Trevor stopped him with the cortexiphan powers that this drive form gave him. "This ends now," the keyblade said coldly. "**Standstill**," he casted paralyzing Zeke with time magic. Trevor then teleported some distance away and dismissed his keyblade. "I don't need a keyblade to defeat the likes of you," he said as swirls of purple energy spun around his hands. The keyblader brought his hands together and fired a powerful purple energy wave. "**Graviga Wave!**" he shouted.

Before the spell could hit the wolf the shattered pieces of his armor melted and pooled together into one dark red molten mass. The molten mass leaped in front of the spell protecting Zeke. Needless to say, everyone was surprised, including Zeke. The pool of metal then twisted and contorted around itself like it has a mind of its own. Its color started to change, turning from dark red to black.

"Zeke…," Scrooge McDuck questioned as he pointed his blaster at the contorting mass. "Where did you get that armor?"

Zeke, who was still paralyzed from the _Standstill_ spell, tried to shrug his shoulders but couldn't. Lucky for him he can still talk. "I kinda, sorta made it with some stuff I found in Mickey's study."

"With what stuff?" Peg probed.

"It's in my satchel. Not that I can get it out, because the keyblader's stupid spell."

Kairi volunteered herself to retrieve whatever was in the wolf's small satchel. She walked over, reached her hand in there, and pulled out what it seems to be an ordinary paintbrush. "This is what you used to create the armor," she questioned as she showed Zeke the painting tool."

"Yeah…," the wolf confessed completely irritated that the time spell he was under was beginning to make him swore. "And with some black stuff I found locked up tight in a jar. I threw in some red dye in it, because red is my color, and painted myself some new duds."

Miranda carefully examined the creepy moving mass. "It doesn't look like paint…," she whispered aloud. She stick her finger in it a little and quickly pulled it out. The cop rubbed the black substance on her fingers to examine its texture. "…This is ink."

As soon as the blonde cop said that, the inky mass leapt up and assumed a frightening form. It towered over all of them in a form of a horrifying apparition. It looked like a ghost with green evil eyes and monstrous mouth. It appear to laugh wickedly at them before swooping down and swallowing the paralyzed Zeke whole. It turned to the others and licked its chomps.

"Does anyone know what the hell this thing is?" Trevor questioned as he summoned back the keyblade _Fringe Theory_.

Everyone shook their heads and nervously readied their weapons.

"I heard rumors," Peg said at last. "From Horace and Clarabelle, mostly Clarabelle, about a creature that King Mickey defeated a long time ago. A creature that devours everything in sight…. The Shadow Blot…"

The monster let out a roar and the whole group staggered back. "Oh, man," Trevor sighed. "This really isn't our day…"

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia and her group raced down the hallways of the castle's second floor. Lucky for them they encountered no guards on their way to the Oratory.

They arrived in the Oratory at record time. It was a large circular room that had a churchy feel to it. All of the wooden pews have been pushed to the side opening up the room. There were three stain glass windows in the back of the room depicting images of angelic figures. Near the back of the Oratory, they saw the usurper, Mortimer, standing there with a nervous looking Queen Minnie at his side.

"Glad you could make it," Mortimer smiled as he leaned against his keyblade, _Scrounger's Desire_. "For a moment there I thought that Olivia and Zeke had taken all of you guys out. It's good to know that Mortimer gets his chance to shine."

"Fat chance!" Cynthia yelled as she and her group stepped forward. "We're going to end this silliness once and for—" The area around them then lit up in a sickening green glow. They felt a portion of their strength leave them as the green light started to fade away.

Mortimer smiled as he saw that one of the red gems on his keyblade lit up. "You fell for my trap," he chuckled deviously. "From every one of you I have absorbed a bit of your life-force using the trap spell, _Drain Circle_. Funny, I thought you would have been more careful than that."

Needless to say, Cynthia was both embarrassed and pissed off. Mortimer made the first move and outsmarted them. _'Blast! He's smarter than I thought,'_ Cynthia considered. _'This calls for a new strategy.'_

Darkwing Duck, itching for a fight and to prove his worth, rushed forward with his gas gun pointed at the mouse.

"Darkwing, no!" the strategist keyblader called out but it was too late.

Before the masked duck could do anything, Mortimer lifted his keyblade and cast _Drain_ sapping more of the duck's strength out of him until the caped avenger collapsed from exhaustion.

Another red gem lit up on Mortimer's keyblade. "Anyone else care for a shot?" he question as he laughed.

Cynthia wasted no time. "Horace, Launchpad, fire at Mortimer. Clarabelle get Queen Minnie to safety and protect her. PJ, cast _Regen_ on that foolish duck lying on the floor. Max, you're with me."

Horace and Launchpad fired their blasters at the mouse, but Mortimer managed to dodge them. That was okay, because Cynthia only wanted to keep the mouse detracted. She and Max managed to sneak up behind him and charged at the usurper. Unfortunately, Mortimer heard them and turned around and blocked both their attacks.

"Such a cheap trick won't work on me," Mortimer taunted. "And I should know; I'm full of cheap tricks! **Osmose!**" Cynthia and Max's mana began to deplete itself and another one of the gems on Mortimer's keyblade lit up.

Cynthia gave a quick smirk. "You fool, I don't need any mana!" So performed a series of onslaughts and slashed with her keyblade. Some of them Mortimer was able to block, but some of her attacks landed without a problem. To finish her assault she jumped back and called Max and PJ to her. "_Trinity Limit_," she called out, "**Moonlight Serenade!**" The three of them then were bathed in white light and started zipping around the room attacking Mortimer with blinding speed each time they pass by.

Mortimer wasn't done with them yet. As Cynthia, Max, and PJ bounced off the walls and sped toward Mortimer for their final strike, the mouse lifted his keyblade and cast, "**Spiral Shield!**" A twisting cone of light blue magic spun around the mouse and deflected his three adversaries' attacks. As the three got knocked on their backs, Mortimer pointed his keyblade at Max. "Here's some _Sap_ for the sap!" he smiled as he cast the spell on the dog-teen.

Slowly draining the dog-teen's strength had lit up the fourth and final gem on Mortimer's keyblade. Both Mortimer and his keyblader started glowing as the mouse usurper received a power boost. Mortimer smiled at his newfound strength. "Thanks for that, chumps! Ya see my keyblade, _Scrounger's Desire_, is a special type of keyblade. Every time I use a spell that absorbs my enemies' strength or magic my keyblade and I become more powerful. Do it four times and I receive my ultimate power boost! Allow me to demonstrate." He raised his weapon and grinned. "**Firaga Cavalcade!**"

Dozens upon dozens of huge fireballs erupted from Mortimer's keyblade and honed in on every one of the warriors like heat seeking missiles. The spell bombarded the warriors and all of them were left slightly singed. Mortimer wasn't finished yet. Dashing about, as if _Haste_ was cast on him, he landed a series of hits on each on the warriors.

"How to ya like me now, duckies?" the mouse taunted. "Do you still think that what I do is nothing more than silliness?!" He plunged his keyblade to the ground and smiled. "**Electrical Havoc!**" Streams of lightning poured out of his keyblade and surrounded the area shocking the warriors. For the coup de grace, Mortimer raised his keyblade and chanted "**Debilitating Miasma!**" Gray mists slowly arise and filled the room. The warriors started coughing and collapsed on their knees as their health was slowly being drained.

"His absorbing spells are getting more powerful," Horace coughed. "We won't last long fighting like this!"

Cynthia gripped her keyblade tightly and quickly hatched up a plan. "Then maybe it's time to turn the tables. PJ cast _Old_ now!"

The cat-teen complied. Barely being able to lift his staff, he chanted "**Old!**" The dull sound of a bell was heard and grey magical eddies swirled around Mortimer.

The female keyblader didn't waste time to rewrite the spell. She lifted her keyblade and yelled _"Symphonic Rewrite: _**Wayward Clock!**" A huge clock appeared behind the mouse and the minute, hour, and second hands whirled around the face of the clock at blinding speed. The faster the hands went the more Mortimer aged. The group of warriors felt their strength returning since Mortimer's spell had run its course and that Cynthia's rewritten spell, _Wayward Clock_, not only inflict _Aging_ on the mouse but _Sap_ as well. Mortimer was having a taste of his own medicine.

When the spell was finished Mortimer looked like a shadow of himself. His fur turned gray, he grown a long white beard, had winkles all over and somehow produced a pair of thick eyeglasses and a walking cane. "What have you done to me," he rasped and then coughed. He tried to lift his keyblade, but lacked the energy to do so. The weapon slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a huge thud. "My beautiful self…," he cursed as he lean on his cane. "Restore me to my original form, whippersnapper!"

Cynthia just sneered. "Don't worry Mortimer, the spell will wear off. …I think."

"Yes, we stopped Mortimer!" PJ cheered.

"Yes, but the castle is still falling," Max reminded everyone. "And we're all dead if we don't think of something."

That's when Queen Minnie came from behind Clarabelle and offered her suggestion. "Maybe the King's brother can help us," she said thoughtfully.

Everyone looked at each other in complete shock. "The king's _brother_?!" they all repeated.

**KH-KH-KH**

"**Graviga Wave!**" Trevor casted and sent a huge gravity beam at the monstrous Shadow Blot. He was still in his _Cortexiphan Child Drive Form_ which greatly increased and expanded his Time Magic casting skills. The spell had little effect and only seemed to aggravate the creature even more. The ink monster lunged at him, but Trevor teleported to safety.

"Bonkers," Trevor called out.

"Right," the bobcat responded.

They both pooled their mana together and concentrated on their attack. "_Limit Breaker:_ **Cosmic Glacier!**" Ice beams shot from both of their weapons and landed a direct hit. Ice crystals started to form around the Shadow Blot, but it quickly smashed them and took a swipe at Trevor and Bonkers. The keyblader managed to duck, but the bobcat was sent flying across the room.

"This thing is a type of shadow, huh?" Kairi said as she focused her mana. "Maybe it hates the light. **Diaga!**" A bright intense light filled the room and the Shadow Blot screeched out in pain.

Dozens of creatures poured out of its body and hit the floor. These new creatures were like a massive eyeball attached to a pair of legs. These blotlings then tuck their legs in and spun toward the warriors at amazing speed.

Miranda managed to cut through several of the blotlings, but they just kept coming and coming. "This isn't like any Heartless that we have ever faced," the cop complained.

"I don't think these guys are Heartless," Trevor said as he dodged another of the Shadow Blot's attacks. "They are something else entirely." Suddenly Trevor's Drive Form was used up and he split into himself and Olivia again. "Well that was inopportune," the keyblader said to the FBI agent.

"We were not making that much headway anyhow," Olivia said as she took out her glock. "I'll help the others take care of the little monsters. You find a way to handle the big one."

It was a harsh long battle, but soon the blotlings were all destroyed and the only time left was the seemingly immortal Shadow Blot. No matter what they hit it with the Blot always comes back fighting.

"There's just no stopping this thing," Bonkers huffed after all of his mana was exhausted.

"It's a freakin' juggernaut," agreed Trevor.

"Impossible, everything must have a weakness," Agent Dunham said.

The monster moved toward them slowly with no signs of fatigue. Our heroes stood there totally weary; their strength spent. As they were wondering what to do next, a bolt of lightning struck the Shadow Blot and paralyzed him for a second. They all looked back and saw a rabbit wearing blue shorts holding a high voltage remote control.

"Okay, now!" the rabbit ordered as Max, PJ, Launchpad, Horace, and Cynthia burst in handling a firing hose and blasted the Shadow Blot with a spray of green liquid. The Blot screeched out in pain as it slowly melting away. Soon there was nothing more than an inky puddle being slowly dissolved in a larger green one.

Zeke, who apparently was still alive, emerged from the inky goo and started running around like his tail was on fire. "Hot! HOT!" the wolf screamed in a panic as thin wisps of smoke was coming out of his fur.

The rabbit sighed and turned a nozzle on the hose counterclockwise a couple of times. "Okay, spray the wolf."

This time a blue liquid spray out and hit the wolf slamming him to the wall. "….Thank you….," Zeke weakly said when they finished spraying. The wolf then collapsed on the floor unconscious.

Bonkers scrambled up on Trevor and clung to the keyblader's head. The bobcat was shivering violently as if something had spooked him. "Bonkers, get off of me!" Trevor yelled and tried to pull the cartoon off, but failed. "What's gotten into you?"

"Paint T-t-thinner….," Bonkers stammered. He pointed to the green pool. "That stuff is paint thinner!"

"So what? It's just a little-oh…," the keyblader said as he came to a realization. "You're a cartoon and made up with just ink and paint. This is probably one of the few things that can actually kill you. But then what's the blue stuff?"

"Paint," the strange rabbit answered, "The only thing that can counteract the effects of thinner."

"And just who are you?" Miranda questioned.

"Guys," Agent Dunham yelled to get everyone's attention. "Have you all forgotten that we're in a castle that will crash into earth any second?!"

"Don't worry about," the rabbit waved off the FBI agent's concern. "The gremlins are going to take care of that."

"Gremlins?" everyone in the room questioned. Then the castle jerked and their descent slowed. Trevor, Miranda, and Olivia ran to one of the windows and saw that huge de-orbital engines were attached to the castle and were firing out to slow their descent. Strange little men with horns, goggles, and helmets were busying floating around the machinery; making sure everything worked properly. To their amazement, the castle landed safely with an earthshattering _THUD!_

"I've seen some strange things," Olivia started, "but this takes the cake."

"Just who are you?" Trevor questioned the rabbit.

The rabbit gave a short bow and smiled. "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit at ya service!"

"Oswald?" Trevor looked to Cynthia for answers, but the female keyblader ignored him.

Max walked up to Trevor and gave him the quick rundown. "He's someone that King Mickey knows. Queen Minnie says that he and the King are 'brothers' but I don't think that's the case exactly. He's apparently older than all of us; even King Mickey! He might be one of the first beings to roam this world. Oswald is now apparently the ruler of his own world called _Wasteland_. And get this; the world is inside a diorama snuck somewhere in the castle's attic! You see, this diorama world originally belong to Yen Sid, but he allowed Mickey to have it after the king completed his keyblader training. Minnie summoned him and the gremlins to save us."

"What about this Shadow Blot character that we had to fight?" Trevor pressed on. "How did you guys know how to defeat it?"

"King Mickey and Oswald fought the Shadow Blot a couple of times. Oswald said the only way to defeat it is with paint or thinner."

"I told Mickey this could happen!" Oswald sniffed. "I said leave the crazy ink back in my world, but he just had to have a sample to study."

"What about Mortimer?" Trevor questioned Max. "Is he still out there?"

"Taken care of," Darkwing said marching in the mouse, who was in handcuffs.

Miranda then put handcuffs on the still unconscious Zeke. "Zeke been neutralized too," the cop affirmed.

One of the gremlins materialized in front of them and turned to Oswald. Like the other gremlins he had green skins, horns on his head, and wore goggles and a helmet. His entire outfit was red and he sported a brushy white mustache. This gremlin floated constantly in the air as he gave his report to the rabbit. "The castle is now safe, Master Oswald. We're taking the de-orbitals off the castle even now as we speak."

"Good work, Gus," Oswald praised the gremlin.

"Master Gus," Queen Minnie spoke to the gremlin. "If it is not that much trouble, could you and the rest of the gremlins fix the castle and the surrounding area?" she gestured all around the Audience Room. That which was once a beautiful chamber was reduced to a battlefield. Windows were broken; the floor was ripped and cracked. One of the thrones was tossed to the other side of the room at one point during the battle and one of the large doors leading into the room was barely on its hinges. There were massive holes in the ceilings and large heaps of debris was all over the room. "I would hate for the king to return home and find the place in ruins."

"No problem," Gus spun around happily. "This whole castle will be spic and span before the king returns!" The gremlin then buzzed away to get started on the task.

"Now what do we do with the usurpers?" Miranda pointed to Mortimer and Zeke.

"We tried to banish them to the outside worlds, but it would seem that wasn't enough," the queen said. "Oswald, if it alright with you I like to send Mortimer and Zeke to Wasteland."

"Hmm…," the rabbit continuously thump his right foot and scratch his chin. "I don't know, they are keybladers now… It will be hard to contain them."

"I have faith that you will find a way," Queen Minnie said with a slight bow.

Oswald sighed and shrugged. "Fine. I will do for you and king. Someone, help take him drag them back to the Wasteland."

"No problem," Launchpad said as he slung both villains over his shoulders.

"No!" Mortimer shouted as the muscular duck carried him off. "Isn't this humiliating defeat punishment enough?!"

"You and Zeke had made you own bed with this one," the queen chastised. "And now you will have to suffer the consequences of your actions. And there's no one coming to save you."

"That's what you think," said a gravelly voice. In walked Walter Fowl with a handful of soldiers. "You may have won, but there're still those of us who don't want Mickey to be our sovereign king anymore."

Our heroes readied their weapons in preparation for battle. They were exhausted, but they knew they outnumber Walter and his soldiers.

"Just give up," Cynthia said, sick of all the fighting and turmoil. "Your side has lost. There's nothing to gain by fighting us. Lay down your weapons and maybe the queen will lenient on you."

Some of the soldiers looked at each other, thinking that what the keyblader said was a good idea. Walter, however, scoffed at the idea. He drew his sword and twirled it lightly in his right hand. "Foolish girl. Don't you know that once an idea has been planted it's near impossible to uproot it? Mortimer and Zeke may have usurped the crown for all the wrong reasons, but that doesn't change what they said was true. Mickey is more concern about the fate of other worlds than his own. Don't be fooled human, the people of this world may seem jolly and carefree, but we have concerns, worries, and fears just like everyone else. We need a king that will stand by his people; one that doesn't go about gallivanting across the universe."

"I'm pretty sure King Mickey feels the same way," Queen Minnie said to everyone's surprise. "There is no doubt in my mind that the king would love nothing more than to stay on this world and rule justly. I can't tell you how much he loves this world. And it is because he loves this world that he is out there fighting in other worlds. He knows that the evil that's out there won't spare our world simply because we wish it to. The evil will engulf our world as well as the others if nobody does anything about it. Don't you see? That is why he fights; why he travels to others worlds to do it. He's fighting in others worlds so he doesn't have to fight in this one. Would you rather have the king stay here with the possibility that we all have to fight for our freedom in our own backyard, Walter? It's a crying shame, but that's the truth of the matter.

"And another thing, have you forgotten that I'm as much a sovereign ruler as the king? I am the one who rules this world when the king is not here. Did Mortimer and Zeke conveniently left out that detail when they were winning you over? You best remember that I am the queen. Do you remember the time I ruled as princess before I married Mickey? My word is law just as much as the king's. Lay down your weapon, Walter. There is no reason for you to fight. Do it not for me, nor the king, but for this world."

Walter looked down and fumbled with the pummel of his sword a bit. No one could tell what he was thinking. "Pretty words, yer highness," he began. "I wish that I can just throw down my sword and sing kumbaya around the campfire with the rest of you softies, but it's not that simple. My pride is at stake." The duck scratched the bottom of his beak for a moment. "I'll tell ya what, choice one of your warriors to face me in a one-on-one battle. If your warrior wins then I shall once again recognize the sovereignty of the crown. If I win, I will continue the revolution. Does that sound fair?"

Queen Minnie closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "If that is what you wish. But take note that if you do win I will have no choice, but to banish you along with Mortimer and Zeke."

"I wouldn't have it any other way, your majesty."

"But which one of us is going to fight him?" Fenton inquired.

"It should be one of the keybladers," Cynthia offered. "And that keyblader is me."

"No, I should do it," Trevor protested. "I'm the strongest keyblader here and—"

"No!" Cynthia yelled sternly and then coldly added, "Anyone, but you."

"I hate to break it to ya," Max said as he unsheathed his sword, "but the only one who's going to fight Walter Fowl is me." He placed his hand on Cynthia's shoulder. "I was his student; I know all of his moves. Besides, this duel should be done by a citizen of this world. We appreciate the offer though."

Cynthia nodded and stepped back. Both Max and Walter slowly approached each other with their weapons readied.

"Last chance to back out and let one of the key-losers to fight me," the soldier taunted.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Max sneered. "To fight someone who doesn't know all your moves."

The armored duck gave a hearty laugh and then in a low voice said "**Mear Gaoth.**" He instantly appeared behind Max and startled the teen. "Boy, you should know that a master doesn't show all his tricks to his apprentice."

He took a stab at his former student, but Max managed to block and deflect the attack. The two went at it furiously striking each other blow for blow. Walter Fowl was clearly the more experience one and able to dodge, deflect, and land more blows than Max. The duck managed to back Max into a corner never letting up on his assault.

"Come on, Max," Walter yelled as he continued to wail on the teen. "I've taught you better than that! Don't tell me that my prize student has gone soft!"

Max, however, was just binding his time; waiting for an opening. When Walter Fowl was in the middle of an overhead swing, Max launched his counterattack. He did a leg sweep to throw his former master off balance. The experienced duck was expecting this, but was too slow to react. He lost his footing for a second, but quickly tried to regain his stability.

Max, though, was just too quick for him. "**Spiraling Arc!**" The teen plunge his sword upwards and hit the duck. Then he unleashed a series of combos with the last attack knocking Walter's sword out of his mentor's hand. He pointed his sword at the duck's neck to claim victory. "Do you yield?" he asked.

"Yeah," Walter panted. "I yield." Max sheathed his sword and Walter picked himself up and smiled. "Damn fine swordsmanship, Max," he praised. "You still need some work, but nothing that time, experience, and practice can't cure. You will make an excellent captain one day. Your father will be proud."

The dog-teen blushed and turned away. He was still angry at his father for not saying goodbye when he left on his journey with Donald. Yet, he was comforted by his mentor's words and hoped that his father really would be proud of him. "Whatever," was his only response.

"Do you honor our agreement," Queen Minnie stepped in front of Walter Fowl.

Walter got on one knee and bowed respectfully. "I recognize and submit to the sovereignty of King Mickey. Forgive me of my trespasses, my queen."

Minnie nodded satisfied with the duck's response. "You are forgiven, second-lieutenant Fowl." She then turned to Oswald and Launchpad who still had Mortimer and the still unconscious Zeke draped over his shoulders. "You may now take the two usurpers to _Wasteland_. As for you Mortimer," she addressed the tall mouse, "I hope this will finally teach you and Zeke a lesson and that the both of you will embrace your punishment with quiet dignity."

"Quiet dignity my foot, I'm going all the way kicking and screaming," Mortimer responded. "Zeke! Zeke, you stupid wolf, wake up! We're being exiled all over again!" The wolf didn't wake up, but gave a loud snore in his sleep. "It just makes you wanna cry," Mortimer said weakly.

With that, Launchpad followed Oswald carrying the two criminals away.

"I should be going too," Kairi said sadly. "When I performed the _Holy_ spell I had a vision that Riku will come to the Destiny Islands to take me somewhere. I have to go back to see what he wants."

Trevor grabbed the princess of heart's hand and took her off to the side so he can speak with her in relative privacy. "Kairi, where do you learn that spell? Was it from someone with the last name of Willow?"

"I think I learn it from my grandmother long ago," Kairi said, but in truth she was not sure. "Her last name was Willow, why?"

Trevor's fears were confirmed: Kairi may be the last descendent of the royal Willow family. With Derrick Blackthorn somewhere running around in the universe, both he and Kairi are not safe. If Derrick catches wind of this he might want to finish what he family started and wipe out the Willow family completely. "Kairi, listen to me carefully. Under no circumstances use or mention that you know the spell _Holy_. You must promise me that. Only use the spell in the direst of circumstances."

"Why? Trevor, you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry Kairi. You see, that spell is one of the three legendary spells; a spell that only a certain family can use. But that family is believed to be wiped out along with the spell. There are still people out there who want to make sure that stays that way. You have to promise me that you will keep _Holy_ a secret."

Kairi sighed and then nodded. The redhead then waved goodbye to everyone, raised her keyblade, created a keyhole portal, and was whisked away back to the _Destiny Islands_.

"I have to be going too," Olivia Dunham announced, "you know, before I lose access to my powers."

"You sure you don't want to stay with us and help us fight evil," Trevor offered.

The FBI agent laughed a little and shook her head. "I fight enough evil back on my home world. I don't need to do it across the universe." The blonde took a deep breath to help her focus her powers. Her whole body blinked a couple of times and then disappeared.

"Well that was quite an adventure," Trevor sighed as he walked over toward Cynthia. "Now I guess we can continue our search for the Forsaken and Naraku." He put his hand to the female keyblader's shoulder. "You're the strategist, what do you think will be the best course of action?"

Cynthia turned around and gave Trevor a backhand slap across the face so hard and fast it sounded like a crack of a whip.

Everyone was stunned, especially Trevor who almost fell to the floor. He staggered back a bit, but quickly recovered. As he rubbed his sore cheek, he stared at Cynthia in a state of confusion and shock. "What in the hell was that about?!" he demanded to know.

"You know what this is about," she said coldly. "Why didn't you tell us that you have a Bleak for a soul?!"

Trevor's blood ran cold. "How did you found out about that?" he asked softly.

"Before my group faced Mortimer we fought against your brother. He was the one who outed you." She paced the floor furiously. "You should have told us about your condition!"

"I was afraid… afraid that you wouldn't trust me…"

"What makes you think that I trust you now? I felt the dark power that… thing inside you exerted. Do you know how frightening that was? You almost ruin the plan, Trevor! Suppose if your inner Bleak teamed up with Mortimer and Zeke, what then? Then we would have to fight against you as well! You're nothing more than a ticking time bomb and quite frankly I don't want anything to do with you. I'm going to help Max and PJ rebuild this world for a while. You can just get out of here before you hurt somebody."

Cynthia then spun on her heels and marched out of the room. Max followed her only looking back once. PJ went to apologize to Trevor. "She just a little upset. Give her a little time to cool off," he said before going after her. One by one, the other people in the room silently left in awkward silence leaving behind only Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers.

"Trevor… I'm sorry…," Miranda said softly trying to comfort the keyblader.

Trevor sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm the one who's sorry. I should have known better then to keep this a secret. I should have told Cynthia and the others the moment we discovered the problem. If I did that Leon, Cynthia, Sora and the others would have probably helped me find a cure for this, but now… All they can do now is hate me… Heh, could've, would've, should've…"

"So… what do we do now?" Bonkers asked meekly.

"We travel to other worlds and confront my brother. Same game plan as always," Trevor said trying to sound determine, but somehow fell short of it. "But first we need to stop at one world first."

"What world is that?" the blonde cop inquired.

"I don't know the name of the world, but there are two monsters that need our help."

**Next Chapter: The Uroboros**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Gizmoduck: Ducktales (1987)

The Shadow Blot: Epic Mickey _(although technically, he first appeared as the _Phantom Blot_ in the comic _Mickey Mouse Outwits The Phantom Blot_ in 1939)_

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: Trolley Troubles (1927)

Gus: Epic Mickey


	32. The Uroboros

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 31: The Uroboros**

The dark keyblader, Helen, silently sat in her old brown station wagon as she drove to her rendezvous with Master Xehanort and his secret order. She brushed back her long dark hair as the song that played on the radio reached its zenith. Everything was going according to plan with the only hiccup being that Derrick revealed his existence to Trevor. Hopefully, Trevor won't catch on until it's too late. _'It's a good thing that Trevor's too worried about the shadow worlds,'_ she thought. _'How fortunate that before Xehanort's Heartless was completely destroyed by Sora and the light from Kingdom Hearts a small portion of his darkness entered and corrupted a small part of Kingdom Hearts before the king and Sora could lock it. Because of the corruption when the worlds were restored some of them were altered resulting in the shadow worlds. The shadow worlds provides the perfect decoy to keep the keybladers of light busy while the rest of us work in the dark.'_ She readjusted her sunglasses and turned off her radio. _'The Uroboros will succeed just in case the 13 Darkness shall fail,'_ she thought. Helen gripped the steering wheel tighter. "We will succeed," she said confidently to herself.

The road she drove on was an old country dirt road in the mountains that was only big enough for one car to drive through. This road is now seldom used and nature was starting to encroach upon it. Dozens of weeds and wild grass grew all over the road, tree roots snaked their way in with threat of incorporating the road back into the dense forest making it disappear forever. The dark, black clouds hung low in the sky, waiting to unleash a tempest, but are purposely holding back as if it didn't want to give the world below the satisfaction. The wind howled blowing stray dead leaves everywhere. All of nature seemed to be conspiring against her; warning her to turn back.

Helen sniffed. _'It is nice to be back home,'_ she thought sarcastically.

The road and the forest started to open up and she came across a clearing. At the edge of the clearing was a tall stone fence with a large decorative iron gate. Helen turned off the engine and got out of the car. She walked confidently up to the gate and summoned her keyblade.

The stem of her keyblade was like a black iron poke, with the teeth of the weapon in the form of a bat. The guard was two raven wings intertwine with one another and the keychain was a short black chain. The token was a glowing green orb with black smoke swirling slowly and ominously within it. _Requiem_ was the name of her keyblade and Helen always felt that this keyblade complimented her better than any other keyblade she received in her life.

She raised her weapon and the locked gate started to morph. The iron at the center of the gate morphed into a giant lock. _Requiem_ shot a beam of black smoke at the lock and the gate slowly started to creak open.

Helen dismissed her weapon and entered the grounds. She knew that the area used to be owned by a rich, prestigious keyblader family known as the Sinclairs. The Sinclairs were distant cousins to the Birch family and while the Birches were relatively humble and content in living in small villages and towns, the Sinclairs loved to show off their wealth and status. Helen knew all of this, because she was adopted into the Sinclair family at a very young age.

The dark keyblader slowly walked along the walkway that was filled with numerous of cracks. On both sides of the walkway was a row of dead ash trees that no longer produce any leaves. Behind the rows of tress used to be the lushest green hedge the world has ever seen. Now, however, the two hedges were long gone and a wall of prickly thorns with sharp black barbs grew in their place. The once green grass was now cracked earth that was so dry and barren that even weeds refuse to grow in it.

Despite the poor condition of the land, a wave of nostalgia swept over her. Helen almost half suspected to see her childhood friends and foster siblings running from the mansion to greet her. However, she knew that this was impossible.

She was the only survivor.

Helen finally reached the mansion's steps. Years and years ago she was left on these steps as an infant. Now most of the steps were broken and she had to climb on to the porch.

It used to be a beautiful mansion, but now it looked like a condemn building. All of the third story and some parts of the second had collapsed in. There was no paint on the chateau; it was as if something had blasted it all off. All of the windows have been shattered and the doors have crumbled. Well, almost every door.

The front door was still intact. Its chipping faded red paint caused it to stand out in its surroundings. She summoned her keyblade and blasted the door aiming at the lion doorknocker in wave of anger. Helen instantly tried to calm down and get control of herself when she felt the she was beginning to lose control of her power.

In addition to being a keyblader, Helen was also a necromancer; a powerful caster that uses the spirits of the dead to perform her spells. Necromancy gave her power unlike anything any keyblader could ever dream. She imagined that if she would challenge Xehanort to a duel to the death there is a slim chance that she could win. It would be a close fight, but the odds are somewhat in her favor. Despite being powerful, if she showed any emotion the spirits might take over and possess her. To constantly be vigilant and in control of one's self, to never show fear, joy, sorrow, anger, or happiness; this is why there are so few necromancers in the universe.

She slowly entered the house and kicked one of the doorknocker's broken pieces into one of the far corners of the parlor. "So much for the Birches and the Sinclairs having _His_ protection," she said to herself.

So many memories flooded her mind as she walked through the first floor of the chateau. Walking through the rubble it's hard to believe that this used to be a bright and vibrant place. Servants scurrying about, members of the family training each other to become Keyblade Masters and the occasional ravish party. However, everything changed when the Shadow Man come.

Helen was only eleven years old when the catastrophe happened. A man cloaked in shadows come to the manor one day and attacked everyone. She doesn't remember the details of the night, just the overwhelming sense of fear, dread, and hopelessness she felt. The clearest memory she had of that incident was awaking up the next morning, alone in the midst of the ruins that was her beautiful home. After all these years she never had gotten a single answer to any of her questions about what happened that night. Who was the Shadow Man? Why did he attack the Sinclairs? How did one man defeat a whole family of keybladers? And most importantly, why was she the only one spared?

The necromancer clutched her fists tightly, desperately wishing for the pain and questions to go away. She figured maybe that's why she's in league with villains like Xehanort. If she sticks with people like him long enough she might run into the Shadow Man again; and if she does she will avenge the Sinclairs.

Helen mentally shook herself and continued to wander in the condemned mansion. She tried to open a door in one of the many crumbling hallways, but the door fell apart the moment she touched it. The inky blackness of darkness gazed back at her from beyond the doorway. The necromancer snapped her fingers and a blue will-o-wisp appeared before her illuminating the darkness. She gazed through the doorway and saw a stony staircase leading down to the cellar. Helen took a deep breath and proceeded downward.

The Sinclair manor was a perfect place for Xehanort to have his meeting. The keybladers of light would never suspect their enemies to meet in a place like this. As she made her slow descent she heard the faint sound of voices floating in the air. When the necromancer reached the bottom of the stairs she could see the soft glow of light coming from one of the rooms in the cellar. The voices slowly became distinct as she moved closer.

"Like, ohmigod, that is, like, _so_ stupid," said a chipper feminine voice with a valley girl accent.

"It is not, as what you call, stupid," spoke a deep, masculine voice with a rich and heavy Russian accent. "Those are rules of game, yes?"

"What-ev-er!" said the disembodied valley girl voice. "That's why I don't sports and junk like that. Making a game out of who can kill the most keybladers of light is _so_ dumb. Don't we need them to create the Ӽ-blade or whatever?"

"We only need _one_ of them, da?" urged the Russian voice.

Helen rounded the bend and entered the room where her comrades are. "But that one has to be pure of heart, filled only with light," she said.

The room was an emptied out wine cellar. There were a couple of chairs, two tables, and even a couch. It gave the basement room the appearance of a barely completed rec room that was slapped together at the last moment.

Helen looked at the person with the Russian accent. He was a tall man; six foot seven inches and around the age of 35. The man had a muscular powerful built, had short curly black hair, wore glasses, and looked smartly dressed in his business casual attire. His massive hands were rapidly solving a rubric cube. Whenever he would solve a cube he would tossed it away, pick up another, and quickly solve it repeating the process. He was sitting on a tiny stool, which looked comical given his massive size.

"Ah, Helen!" the muscular man greeted her. "I was wondering when you will show up to festivities."

"Rostislav," Helen nodded in greeting. She knew that Rostislav had an affinity for puzzles and games and would spend most of his free time trying to solve them. The Russian wasn't a villain, not like the rest of them. Rostislav sees helping Xehanort as the ultimate riddle; how does one take over the universe. With his intellect and his natural ability to solve problems Xehanort made him his top strategist.

"Why didn't you use a dark corridor like everyone else?" the annoyed valley girl said to the necromancer. The valley girl was a natural blonde around the age of 22. She had long hair that fell and draped over her shoulders delicately. Her tight-fitting black shirt had a picture of a winged broken heart with a dagger through it. She wore a plaid red skirt with a belt that only went through half of the belt loops. With her fishnet stocking, high heel boots, and black mascara her whole persona was that of a punk rocker cheerleader; if there was such a thing. She blew a bubble with her pink bubblegum and stared at Helen intensely with her green eyes.

Helen knew not to underestimate the valley girl. Despite her half-witted cheerleader routine she is a ruthless killer. Before she was scouted by Xehanort it is said that she killed her own master. The necromancer made light of her one time in the past and quickly found herself lying on her back in immense pain. The punk rocker/cheerleader was a keyblader gifted with the ability to control other people's emotions. That combined with her slyness and unassuming demeanor makes her a formidable enemy.

"I've originally lived on this world," Helen explained to the young woman. "I wanted to do some sightseeing, Almia."

Almia let out a sharp sigh of disgust and rolled her eyes at her fellow dark keyblader. She was lying on the couch as if she owned it and was posing for a fashion shoot. She tossed her hair back and sneered. "We don't have time for you to get all sentimental and junk!" she chastised. "Speaking of time, what's the deal with Master Xehanort? He came to us years ago and recruits us, then we had to sit on our hands for _years_, then Braig shows up out of the blue and is all like 'It's time to serve Master Xehanort.' Do you know what I say to all of that? Bull!"

"Xehanort's our master and you shouldn't talk about him with great disrespect," Rostislav fumed.

"Has anyone of the Uroboros even _seen_ Master Xehanort since twelve-to-fifteen years ago?" Almia questioned the two. Helen and Rostislav shook their heads. "That's my point. It's my belief that Master Xehanort hasn't returned yet; not fully anyway. I heard he was using Organization XIII to clone himself or some crap like that. Who's to say that we, the Uroboros, are also supposed to be used in the same way? I mean, Nerela and Braig are two of our members."

Helen looked down for a moment, deep in thought. "You may have a point, but with the exception of Nerela and Braig, I think we would know if we were implanted with a part of Xehanort. Furthermore, the reason why we haven't been contacted all these years is because we're Xehanort's backup plan. The Uroboros is nothing more than a contingency plan should his other plans fail."

"What about Derrick?"

"Derrick is nothing more than mere vessel should Master Xehanort ever needs another one," Rostislav explained. "That's why Braig and Helen are training him; to prepare him for Xehanort's heart and upcoming keyblade war. Xehanort's heart fusing with his body should be less troublesome than fusing with Terra's."

Almia shifted her weight on the couch and sneered. "I wouldn't put it pass him though."

Helen walked a bit further and saw Robert sitting at a table with a red-headed woman named Nina Sharp and a man named David Xanatos hovering over him. Robert had no shirt on and his right arm on the table revealing to the whole world that it was a prosthetic. The necromancer knew very little about the rat scientist and Robert won't volunteer any information on how he lost his arm. She knew that 6'7" was not the rat's real height and that he can alter it at will with magic. The rat was actual height was a little taller than the average rodent. But right now Robert was 6'7" and heavy drummed his left fingers on table while David and Nina tinkled on the prosthetic, scrutinizing over every detail.

"I am telling you," Nina Sharp spoke sternly to David, "that Robert needs a microcomputer in his prosthetic!" Miss Sharp was an older woman who had a prosthetic hand of her own. She had lost her hand trying to stop her friend and colleague from crossing over to another dimension and make the biggest mistake of his life. She was a part of the Uroboros, but unlike the others she and David are not keybladers. Both of them were invited into the group because of their sheer intellect. With Robert, the three made an unstoppable scientific team capable of inventing anything for Master Xehanort.

"Just like someone who works for Massive Dynamic," David Xanatos spat, "Always thinking up complicated solutions to problems when simple ones will do." David Xanatos was a handsome man with dark hair, a ponytail, and a well-kept short beard and goatee. He was wearing a black shirt with a brown coat and always seems to wear a smug grin of self-importance and satisfaction on his face.

"It would be much easier," David explained, "if we use a simple system of gears and rotators-"

"Ha!" Nina interrupted. "How primitive! No matter how many gears you put in this arm it can never match of the complicated motions of a hand. A computer however…"

"Who wants a bulky computer in their arm?" Xanatos protested. "There wouldn't be enough room for the compact machine gun or the grappling hook."

Nina Sharp shook her head. "Typical male. He doesn't need a machine gun or a grappling hook. The ammunition for the gun will be difficult to load in the arm. As for the grappling gun, if he uses it then his prosthetic arm will come off! And I don't know about the technology on your world, but on my world computers aren't bulky. In fact, Massive Dynamic had developed a computer so small it can rest comfortably on a pinhead."

"Is the pinhead the size of a small calculator," Xanatos teased resulting in Nina Sharp giving him an irritated look. "That's very nice and all, Miss Sharp, however I was only thinking about Robert, our mutual friend and colleague, and how it will be better for him if we install some accessories."

"Accessories?!" mocked Nina. "You call a machine gun and grappling hook accessories?! I call it an accident waiting to happen. If it's accessories he needs then I can have one of my teams install a scanner and a holographic screen so he can scan an enemy's stats."

"Now who's being insensible? He can't look down at his arm and fight an enemy at the same time. If it's enemy information gathering you're worry about, Robert could just use these." David pulled out a pair of mirror sunglasses and put them now. "These glasses can not only scan your enemy's stats and display them on the lens, but also output the most effective way to dispatch them."

"Ah, how cute and antiquated," Nina mocked, pulled out a small box, and opened it revealing two contact lens. "I made a contact lens version years ago."

"I hate to interrupt the scientist version of comparing one's size," Robert began still tapping his fingers on the table, "but what about what I want?"

"Stay out of this!" David and Nina said sharply and went back to arguing about what was the best approach to repair the prosthetic limb.

Helen couldn't help, but smirk to herself as she listened to the three argue. She passed by another dark keyblader named Keith who had his giant headphones on, head slowly bobbing to some unknown beat. The necromancer nodded her head in greeting, and the young dark keyblader nodded back.

Keith was sixteen years old and already 6'8". He had a wry built, but was beginning to develop muscle. He wore short white gloves, a black jacket, dark pants, and black combat boots. He's always seen wearing dark mirror sunglasses so no one in the Uroboros has seen his eyes. Keith's specialty was inflicting his enemies with a status condition; especially if it is _Poison_. His talents makes him Xehanort's top assassin.

Apparently when Xehanort asked Keith to join the Uroboros, the young keyblader was dreadfully shocked that there were others like him in the universe. Helen didn't doubt that fact for a second. The universe is so huge, so enormous, that it didn't surprise her that some keybladers or groups of keybladers would think that they were the only keybladers left in the universe. Sora when he first started his journey probably thought that as well. A keyblader could wander the multi-verse for decades and never run into another keyblader.

"I am here! The party can now beginning!" Everyone turn to the entrance and saw a man wearing a jovial face step forward. He was wearing a black pseudo-military uniform, elbow high white gloves, and ebony boots. By his slicked back black highlighted hair and his smug face, Helen knew that the man could only be Elliot. Everything about Elliot screamed neat and proficient; there was not a hair out of place, not a wrinkle to be seen. He always carried himself more highly than he should. The man's ego was so big several Titantics could have a pool party in it. Elliot strutted around like a horse who won the Kentucky Derby fifteen times in a row, and yet the keyblader was known to avoid any competition unless he could rig it to his advantage. In other words, Elliot is a royal pain in the $#.

The dark keyblader strutted across the chamber, working the room. "Rostislav; always a pleasure. Still working those puzzles I see. Almia, beautiful as ever I see. Try not to hurt yourself! Nerd Patrol alert!" he said when he approached Robert, David, and Nina. "I'm just kidding. Don't forget to watch the coefficients or whatever the heck they are called."

As Elliot left their table Robert breathed "Jack $&," under his breath.

"Keith!" Elliot approached the silent keyblader. "How's it going buddy?" As Keith opened his mouth to answer, Elliot left saying "Fantastic!"

Then Elliot saw Helen and stopped for a moment. "Helen," he greeted. "How's our group's favorite bundle of sunshine?"

"About to put a hex on you," the necromancer warned. It wasn't a playful threat, a part of her really wanted to place a curse on the jerk.

"Colorful as always, in mood, tongue, and dress," Elliot spat sarcastically. "Why don't you go fly off on your broom somewhere?"

"Brooms are for witches," Helen calmly said as she summoned her keyblade and pointed at Elliot. "I use a keyblade and the spirits that continue to haunt me."

"No need to get hasty," Elliot pushed Helen's weapon away from him using his right forefinger. "I have wonderful news and not so wonderful news. It would seem that only Riku became a Keyblade Master, but poor ol' Sora couldn't."

If Helen's eyes could have pop out of her skull they would have. She readjusted her shades and cough. "Is that correct?" she simply asked. She knew that Elliot was the group's intel gatherer. It made her wonder why Xehanort assigned Elliot for that job since his mouth was like an old refrigerator; it couldn't keep anything. "Was that the good news or the bad news?"

"Unfortunately that was the good news… But hey, only one new Keyblade Master is better than two Keyblade Masters for us, right?"

"What's the bad news?"

"Out master Xehanort has taken a licking from the two keybladers and need to recuperate and vent his anger. So he's not going to make it to our little meeting. Braig and Derrick are with him. It seems that we have to start the meeting without the three of them. Four if you count Nerela, who's on special assignment."

Helen scowled as she heard the news. She was beginning to wonder if Almia was right. Was Xehanort just stringing the Uroboros along? Could the group be nothing more than Xehanort's scapegoat? With Xehanort and Braig gone it means that she's the temporary leader of the group. "Are you sure your information is accurate?"

"You dare doubt me? My information gathering skills are legendary!"

"So is your big mouth," the necromancer said dryly. Elliot shot back a look, but Helen refused to be bother by it. "What about the other keyblader, Trevor? He's going through the Mark of Mastery as well."

"Yes, but he hasn't complete it yet. I don't know the details of his test exactly, but I do know the infamous Yuko is the proctor. What Trevor has to do to become a master is beyond me."

"So much for those legendary information gathering skills…"

"If you want to be the sap dumb enough to get close to that witch, then be my guest! I, for one, wish to stay alive. Do you know how many wards she set up not only around her place, but around her person? She would know that I'm there before I get thirty feet of her."

"Wards are not that difficult to get by," Helen thought out loud to herself. "You just need to know that they're there and what triggers them."

"Well if it's so easy, the next time I have to spy on Yuko you can tag along and help me bypass the wards."

Helen groaned deeply. Going on a mission with Elliot wasn't her idea of a good time. Just being around him was emotional exhausting. "I'll sooner French kiss a zombie," she deadpanned as she turned to walk away.

"Why you have to be like that?" Elliot said as he grabbed her arm. "Imagine all of the stuff you and I could do together; all the fun we can share."

"Unless you want to lose that hand I suggest you let go of me."

Elliot let go and backed off a bit. "You're not going to make any friends acting like that."

"I'm not interested in making friends." She began to walk away. "Be useful and tell me where is Diva and her cohorts."

"In the back room," the male keyblader snorted. "You know, I hate those freaks."

"I sure the feeling's mutual," Helen sighed as walked to the back of the room. She opened the door and walked in the semi-dark room. This backroom used to house the rarest and the most expensive wine. In the faint candlelight she could make out five figures in the room.

One of them turned to her, a bearded man with dark hair. He wore a dark purple suit with a black dress shirt underneath. "I was afraid that you keybladers had forsaken us," he said.

"Amshel," Helen greeted. "The chiropterans are important to Xehanort's plan; though I fear since Saya is gone we may have to find alternative methods to make sure that both of our ends are met."

"Cinq Flèches doesn't need you keybladers anymore," Amshel spoke. "Our beloved Diva is already pregnant. Even though our world was destroyed we are capable of restarting our race on another world. Though, I must admit, our original plans are greatly set back…"

"May I remind you who was foolish enough to try to control the Heartless on your world?" Amshel stared at Helen with hatred in his eyes, but the necromancer refuse to be bothered by it. "As I recall it was you who accidentally brought ruin to your world. That's what you get for trusting Naraku and his cohorts over us. Your first clue that something was up should have been when a duck wearing a mask and a red hat told you he could give you power beyond your wildest dreams, but only if you serve a half-demon. The Uroboros, however, are offering the next generation of your unique race the chance to become keybladers like me and Master Xehanort; a chance to dominate the entire universe instead of just one world. If you no longer want that then suggest you all leave. Now."

"Settle down you two," said the man sitting in the corner talking in an effeminate voice. He was wearing a blue flamboyant shirt and had blond hair. He flashed a wily smile at the two. "Amshel, you really should think of this as an opportunity to showcase Diva at large. Now the whole universe is her stage and all we have to do is set it for her."

"Nathan, you and your musings," said another blond man wearing an all-white suit. "But I'm afraid that I will have to agree with Amshel. Saya is gone now…," the man looked crestfallen as if someone close to him has died. "She died along with our world and there's no way of getting both back…"

"Don't be ridiculous." Everyone turned and saw a beautiful young woman with blue eyes. If Trevor was here, he would have told you that the young woman before him was Saya, but in reality it was her evil twin sister Diva. She was toying with mouse as if it was doll and then tossed it aside when she grew bored with it. "Saya's not dead. She somehow was able to survive. I can feel her."

"My dear Diva, that's impossible!" Amshel said startled that she would said such a thing. "Saya went down with our world. There's no way she could have survived!"

Diva gave the leader of Cinq Flèches an icy cold stare. "Do you dare doubt me, Amshel?" Amshel was about to say something, but felt that it was prudent to keep his mouth shut. "Like it or not, Saya is my twin sister," Diva continued. "I have no love for her, which makes this annoying link we share all the more irritating. She's alive out there somewhere… No doubt about it. Her annoying chevalier is probably alive somewhere too. All Xehanort has to do is fine her."

"Aha!" Nathan cried joyously as he got up and clapped his hands. "What a delicious twist in this play! The Red Queen is alive somewhere plotting her revenge. Now it's up to the loyal chevaliers to protect their beloved Blue Queen!"

"So Saya… is alive…." Solomon whispered to himself and tried to hide the smile slowly spreading across his lips.

"Diva!" said a dark-skinned man wearing a dark suit and a blue tie. "Allow me to find and kill Saya for you. It will be my honor!"

"That won't be necessary, James," Diva spoke softly as she rubbed her stomach. "It's very strange… All of my life there was only two kinds of people: those who wish to kill me and those who melt at my feet." Her eyes began to soften. "But now, that I'm having twin daughters… I'm beginning to think about someone else besides myself. I guess becoming a mother really does change your view on the world. Amshel, let's go with Xehanort's plans. Let's create a better future for my children."

At first Amshel didn't say anything, as if he was calculating all the possible outcomes in his mind. He finally sighed and nodded. "As you wish Diva," the chevalier bowed. He turned to Helen, "All right, Helen. Diva and her chevaliers shall join forces with Master Xehanort."

Helen nodded and then excused herself from the room. When she left room, she sighed and was thankful that she prevented Cinq Flèches from withdrawing. She walked out of cellar and marched up the flight of stair, not bothering to acknowledge any of her teammates on her own out. She needed some air; she needed some time to herself. Being at her old home brought back too many painful memories and unwanted emotions; emotions that she thought she buried a long time ago.

As she round a crumbling hallway, she saw Robert flipping through pages of an old book. The rodent had his shirt back on and apparently David and Nina stopped arguing long enough to help him fix his prosthetic arm. The rat looked over and quickly closed the book when he saw the necromancer coming his way.

"What are you doing up here?" Helen demanded to know.

"Why? Did I scare you?" Robert huffed.

"Why are you up here?" she repeated.

The rat scientist twitched his whiskers. "I was getting tired of being surrounded by idiots. Elliot being here doesn't help matters… The only human I can tolerate is Nerela, but she's on special assignment."

Helen knew that the rat harbors some deep hatred and mistrust against humans. She heard that when Xehanort traveled to Robert's world he disguised himself as a rat to convince the animal scientist into joining him. Whatever issues he has with humans Helen could care less; she had other things on her mind. "What's with the book?" she interrogated.

"It's for some research," he said sharply. Robert then cleared his throat. "This was once your home, yes? Could you tell me what happened here? How did all of this get reduce to a pile of rumble?"

Helen looked away. "A mysterious man came one night and just level the whole place. I don't know how or why. I'm still trying to figure that out."

The rat smirked. "Since when did you humans need a reason to do something awful? Humans like to preach about love and acceptance, but then go and do the exact opposite. You must tell me, how does it feel to be part of a species that are nothing more than lying hypocrites?"

"I don't know. How does it feel to be part of a species that doesn't value cleanliness?"

Robert twitched his whiskers again in irritation. "For someone who can't show any emotion, you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"Whatever…," she necromancer sighed. "I'm going back down. Don't stay up here too long. We need to wrap up the meeting."

"I will be down there in a second," he called out as he watched Helen travel back the stone stairs. Once the necromancer was gone he pulled out the book he was reading and flipped it open. Robert found the tome among the rumble and debris of the mansion and found it most insightful. He smiled as he quietly read the page he was on. Such knowledge will be useful in his independent research.

"_I, Thaddeus Sinclair the leader and patriarch of the Sinclair clan, have always strife for the betterment of my family,"_ Robert read softly out loud to himself. _"For years I have experimented with the arcane arts in an attempt to create stronger, more efficient spells. But finally, after all these years I have made a major breakthrough. Dare I say it? I believe I have created a spell just as powerful as the three legendary spells; perhaps even more... I may have developed the __fourth__ ultimate spell. It needs a name… Because of its nature and how it affects all living beings around the caster when the spell is put into effect, I believe I shall call it __**Doomsday**__!"_

The rat closed the tome and let loose a soft chuckle. "I imagine the poor woman doesn't even know what her adoptive family was fooling around with. But still, I wonder… Did Xehanort recruit Helen into the Uroboros because of her foster grandfather's research? I wonder if he even knows about all of this." Robert continued to ponder this to himself as he slowly walked down the stairs.

**KH-KH-KH**

Hailey slowly walked through the manifestation of Trevor's soul which was still in the form of a large library. Unfortunately the said library was continuing to fall in disrepair and it seemed to get worse by the hour. Half of the overhead lights were out and the ones that were still working will blink and flicker for minutes on end. The tiles on the ceiling were starting to come apart and every couple of hours she would hear several loud THUMPs signaling that several fell to the floor. Books were everywhere scattered sloppily across the floor; the bookshelves barely had any books on them and many of them were overturned.

She stopped in her tracks in both horror and confusion as she saw that half of the library was gone and in its place was a dark inky void. Just beyond the void was another structure that appeared to be in the process of being built. The other structure looked like the inside of a surf shack; complete with surfboards and other surfer apparel. Hailey watched as one of the books by her feet crumbled into dust. She then saw on the other side of the abyss a new surfboard being materialized in the half completed surf shack.

"What is going on?" she questioned herself as she slowly backed up. "Is something happening to Trevor?"

She ran like crazy trying to find the only person in here who might have a clue what was going on. "Come on, where are you?" she said as she frantically searched the place. "I know you're here someplace!" Finally, after a couple of minutes of searching, she heard a soft groan coming from somewhere nearby. "Hello?" she called out. "Where are you? I know you're here somewhere!"

Hailey looked under a table and saw Trevor's Bleak chained to the floor. The Bleak looked worse for wear. It was as if almost all the life had been drained from him. The chains, seemingly made of light, bind him tightly and pinned him to the floor making him unable to move an inch.

"What are you doing under here?!" Hailey demanded to know.

"Sleeping," the Bleak spat sarcastically. "After Kairi's _Holy_ spell hit me, it sapped almost all of my energy and bound me up. I've been here ever since."

"What's happening to Trevor's soul?" the blonde interrogated. "Half of it is missing, the remaining half teetering in a void. And on the other side of the void is another building. I have no clue what's going on here!"

The Bleak gave a long, painful sigh as if it hurt to even do just that. His eyes were blank as if he couldn't see Hailey. "So the process is accelerating…," he said softly. "Damn, I thought we had more time…"

"More time?!" Hailey said in a panic. "What's happening? What's accelerating?"

"Kyle is beginning to take over… and Trevor is disappearing. That other building that you saw is the manifestation of Kyle's soul or what will be his soul. As you know this library is me; is Trevor's soul. Every time something is destroyed in library it gets rewritten and placed as a new object in that surf shack. As bad as I was, I slowed down the process to a crawl. But, now that I have been chained by Kairi's spell, there's nothing to stop or hinder the process. Unless Trevor does something, he will fade away and Kyle will be this universe's Trevor. All memories of Trevor will be erased from everyone's minds and it will be as if he had never existed."

"I'm not going to allow that to happen," Hailey said getting on her knees. She reached for the chains, but as she got close she received a nasty shock.

The Bleak weakly chuckled to himself. "You cannot undo chains. There's a reason why _Holy_ is one of the three ultimate spells. It's taking all of my strength not to succumb to this spell. But soon my strength will give out and the remnants of the spell will purify me completely. I will no longer be a Bleak and in turn, Trevor will no longer be a Forlorn… I imagine you will be happy about that."

Hailey shook her head. "Not if it means that Trevor is going to cease to exist." Her eyes started to water and she began to cry.

The Bleak gave a long sigh again. "Don't be sad," he tried to comfort her. "Think of it as this way; Trevor will only be rewritten as Kyle, so in a sense he will continue to live on in Kyle. When the process is complete I don't know what will happen to you though… There's a chance that you could survive in Kyle's soul the same way you survive in Trevor's."

"Is there anything that I can do? To stop or slow down the process?"

The Bleak shook his head. "None that I can think of," he said sadly. Hailey hung her head low and started weeping again. "Do you regret it?" the Bleak asked her. "Sacrificing yourself to save Trevor that night our world was destroyed by the Heartless?"

"…No…," the blonde shook her head. "I will do it all over again. We will make it out of this. Trevor will save us."

The Bleak cracked a painful smile. "Let's hope your faith in Trevor isn't misplaced."

**Next Chapter: Once Upon a December**

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Rostislav (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Almia (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Elliot (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Keith (OC): Kingdom Hearts III: Beyond the Kingdom

Nina Sharp: Fringe(2008)

David Xanatos: Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken(1994)

Diva: Blood +(2005)

Amshel Goldsmith: Blood +(2005)

Solomon Goldsmith: Blood +(2005)

James Ironside: Blood +(2005)

Nathan Mahler: Blood +(2005)


	33. Once Upon a December

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, storylines, or concepts mention in the story, just the OCs.**

**Chapter 32: Once Upon a December**

The _Dragonfly_ quietly sped along inner-space seeking its next destination. Its crew spent a whole day helping the gremlins and the citizens of _Disney Castle_ clean up the mess that Mortimer and Zeke helped create. It was good to be on the road again, but Cynthia was still ticked off about Trevor. She sat in the chair next to the pilot's seat with her hands behind her head and her feet on the console. Every few moments she would go on a tirade, ranting to Max and PJ about how Trevor should told them about his condition and how the next time she's sees the male keyblader she's going to bop him on the head just for good measure.

"And another thing!" she said for the fourteenth time. "Where does Trevor get off by keeping such a dangerous secret from us?! I mean, he's a freaking time bomb! If he can't get that... _thing_ under control, who knows what's going to happen to us the next time!"

"I'm hoping there is no next time," PJ responded from the pilot's seat. "Saving my home world once is bad enough. I don't want to do it twice!"

Max sighed deeply, completely tired of listening to the female keyblader. "Cynthia, I'm telling you this as a friend and comrade: please lay off of Trevor. I imagine that he has enough problems without you riding him."

"Then he shouldn't lie to us!" the keyblader hissed.

"He was probably scared," Max insisted.

"Yeah," PJ added, "I mean it can't be easy for him; it's probably a heavy burden. Think about it, how do you talk to somebody about that? You can't just go up to a person and say, 'Oh, by the way, my soul happens to be an evil Bleak that might take control over me.'"

"He still should have told us," Cynthia huffed. "It's not like I hate the guy," she insisted, "but there are certain things that one has to put up front to avoid uncomfortable situations like this. It's just so… disappointing… that a man like him had to be so messed up."

The dog-teen raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better I say that you have a crush on Trevor."

"What?!"

"You heard me," the dog-teen spoke slyly. "Didn't you once tell us that you once had a crush on his older brother, Zackary, a long time ago? My, my, it seems that someone has a thing for bad boys; especially if their last name is Birch."

Cynthia summoned her keyblade and whacked both Max and PJ on the head.

"Ouch! But I didn't say anything!" PJ whined.

"No, but I'm sure you were thinking it!" Cynthia huffed with her arms crossed.

The computer console started beeping and an image appeared on the screen. The image of a world appeared. It was a snow-covered world with a large abandoned palace and factories covering the sphere.

PJ pulled up the data on the world. "It says here that the world's name is _The Old Country_."

"What a curious name for a world," Cynthia muttered to herself.

"Well, what are we sitting around here for?" Max said rubbing the bump on his head. "Let's go on that world and have a look around, before Cynthia starts ranting around Trevor again."

The keyblader then hit the teen with her keyblade; harder this time.

**KH-KH-KH**

Snow and frost flew by as Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, Sulley, and Mike slid down together in a makeshift sled. The group was determined to get to a small village near the base of Mt. Everest.

"So let me get this straight," Miranda said, but still wary of the monsters that Trevor befriended. "Monsters from your world have to scare little children in other worlds to collect power?"

"That's right," Sulley said.

"And a little girl, who you named Boo, wandered into your world and now a monster named Randall and your ex-boss are trying to do what?"

They are going to extract the screams out of Boo by force," the blue monster answered. "They are also planning to kidnap other children among the worlds to solve the power shortage."

"Can't you monsters use electricity like everyone else?"

"Or steam," Bonkers suggested. "That way, your society can go all steam-punk!"

"What is this cat-thing talking about?!" Mike yelled. "I can't believe the mess that we're in. Now we're helping two humans break into _Monstropolis_ to save the one that's already in there! What's this world coming to?!"

"Trevor, are you okay?" Miranda said to the keyblader. "You have been awfully quiet."

"Huh?" the keyblader spoke as if he awakened from a trance. "Oh, it just that I have a slight headache, that's all." Trevor tossed a question in his head for a bit. "Uh, Sulley… How is going to a village will help us get back to your world?"

"If there's a village than there are kids," Sulley told him. "That means that monsters will scare them. We can use the kids' closet doors as a portal back to _Monstropolis_."

"Is that all?" the keyblader rolled his eyes.

Sulley all of a sudden lost control of the sled and crashed into a boulder half buried in snow. Everyone went flying in different directions and the group was lucky enough to land in the soft snow instead of one of the many rocks that littered the landscape.

As they picked themselves up everyone heard a child screaming in the distance. They looked through the snowstorm and saw the village that they were looking for only a couple of miles away. Several houses lit up as parents went to comfort their children from their nightmares.

Sulley looked at the group and smiled.

_Meanwhile, in Monstropolis…_

A shaved monster wearing a cone around his neck hesitated as he stared at the door in front of him. He was one of the monster scarers at Monsters, Inc. who job it was to scare children so his company can collect the power embedded in the child's screams. It was a bad week for the monster. Twice already, he actually touched something from the human world. According to the monsters in this world, anything from the human worlds is potentially dangerous and lethal. Because of his accidental contact with these foreign objects all of his fur has been cut and he had to be roughly scrubbed down to be 'disinfected'. After everything that had happened, the monster was more than a little nervous about scaring another kid.

"Don't worry about it, George," said a small monster that was his assistant. The assistant pulled out a card and swiped it on the card reader on the computer console in front of him. A door was then gently dropped in front of them by a mechanical claw and was locked into place by a device attached to the computer console. "I got you a nice easy door that leads to some kid in Nepal. You can do this!"

"That's right, I can do this," George tried to psyche himself up.

Just as the monster slowly opened the door, Sulley, Trevor, and the others burst through it entering scare floor F of Monsters, Inc. "Sorry about that, George," the big blue monster apologized to his colleague.

All the monsters on the scare floor stopped what they are doing and stared at the group with frightened eyes. "Humans are invading our world!" one of them screamed pointing at Trevor and Miranda. "Adult ones!" screamed another. "I heard that they are more poisonous than the children!" Pandemonium then broke out as the creatures started running for their lives.

"What now?" Miranda yelled over the chaos.

"Follow me!" Sulley called out and the group made a mad dash to one of the many hallways in Monsters, Inc.

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia, Max, and PJ walked through the heavily snow-covered forest. The group was prudent enough to wear heavy jackets and was thankful for that since it was snowing lightly. They walked into the clearing and quickly realized that it was a fork in the road. One of the signs on the lamppost said St. Petersburg due east, the other Fishermen's Village due west.

"I'm getting to real sick of these frigid worlds," Cynthia huffed as she hugged herself for warm. "At least we haven't turned into penguins." She stared off into the distance for a moment. "Though it's strange… I'm getting a faint vibe of déjà vu."

They heard a sharp scream and turned to the right to see what who made the noise. A young woman with brownish-red hair wearing hand-me-down clothes came running to the road. Following close behind her was a small grey mutt barking at the creatures that were pursuing them.

The Heartless that was chasing them were large wolf-like creature covered in icy blue fur. Along with their blank yellow eyes they had comically oversized fangs. The scruff of their neck stuck up like frozen stalagmites. Arctic Wolves were the name of this type of Heartless.

The young woman fell down and turned around to see the Heartless about to descend on her. Before one of the Heartless could pounce on her, Cynthia stepped in and swatted the creature away with the keyblade.

"Are you okay?" Cynthia asked the young woman.

The woman nodded and hugged her dog tightly.

The hurt Heartless shook itself off and growled at the keyblader. The others of its kind started to regroup and made an attempt to surround the group.

"It seems that they want to play," Max joked as he pulled out his sword.

"Do you think if we tell them to 'sit' and 'stay' they will leave us alone?" PJ asked nervously.

One of the Heartless launched a _Blizzaga_ spell from its mouth.

"I'm guessing no!" Cynthia yelled as she dodged the spell.

Three of the Arctic Wolves jumped high in the air and attempted to pounce on the group, but Max was ready for them. "**Luna Arc!**" The dog-teen jumped up and destroyed the three Heartless with one swoop of his sword. As he landed another Arctic Wolf charged him. However, it didn't get the chance to sink its fang into Max since PJ fired a _Comet_ spell at it.

"Thanks Peej!" Max yelled as he prepared his next attack. "**Crescent Bombardment!**" The dog-teen unleashed a series of onslaughts on most of the Heartless.

Cynthia dodged another _Blizzaga_ spell from the Arctic Wolf in front of her. The Heartless then unleashed a frozen mist from its mouth that froze everything in its wake. Before the mist could touch her, the keyblader rewrote the spell. "_Symphonic Rewrite:_ **Ice Armor!**" The mist surrounded her and solidified into ice blue armor. Two Heartless fired a couple rounds of _Blizzaga_ that Cynthia, but the ice spells no longer had any effect on her; in fact the spells healed her. "Now we're cooking with gas," she said. Both she and Max then proceeded to destroy the remaining Heartless.

When the last Heartless was destroyed, Cynthia helped the young woman up. "Are you alright?" she said.

"Yes," the young woman said. "How were you able to defeat those creatures? I heard they have been popping up everywhere recently."

"It's what we do," the keyblader shrugged. "I'm Cynthia by the way."

"Max," Max greeted as he sheathed his sword.

"And I'm PJ," the cat-teen greeted.

"My name is Anya," the young woman said. "And this little rapscallion is Pooka," she said referring to her dog. The dog barked happily at the three travelers.

"What are you doing all alone out here," Cynthia asked. "As you can see it's not safe to wander by yourself."

"Well, I just left the orphanage that I was raised at for the first time," Anya began. "I'm supposed to get a job at the fishermen's village. But I'm going to St. Petersburg. I need to find a way to get to Paris. Maybe there I will find out who I am there."

"You don't know who you are?" Max scratched his head.

"No," Anya said stated as she pulled out a necklace. "Ever since I was young, I had amnesia. My only clue to who I was in this necklace." She fumbled with the token on the necklace a little. "_'Together in Paris,'_" she read on the necklace, "That's my only clue."

The three travelers looked at each other and nodded. "Anya, if you want we can accompany you all the way to Paris," Cynthia offered.

"It's not like we have anything else to do," Max huffed. The keyblader playfully kicked him on the foot.

"I will love that!" Anya said joyfully as Pooka barked happily around them. The young woman looked off into distance along the road to St. Petersburg. "For the first time in my life I feel like I'm getting closer to discovering who I am. I can feel it in my heart; I getting closer to the truth!"

Getting to St. Petersburg was no picnic. It was a long road to the industrious city. When the group got there, the clouds were dark and low, and it was snowing heavily. Everyone seemed to have a gloomy look on their face as they drudged in and out of factories. Still, every so often they would encounter a group of peasants speaking in hushed voices. The topic was always the same: the slim probability that the country's lost princess might be alive. But they will quickly disperse if a government official would show up.

The group traveled to a broken down train station to purchase train tickets to Paris. Unfortunately for them, the teller was quick to point out that they lack something vital before they could travel. "You four need exit vitas!" the teller yelled at them.

"Exit vitas?" PJ scratched his head in confusion.

"Yes, exit vitas," the teller mocked. "If you want to leave the country you will need them. No exit vitas, no ticket!" The pompous man then slammed the ticket window shut with a loud BANG!

"Great, now what?" Max crossed his arms and huffed.

"Excuse me…," the group turned around and saw an old beggar woman in rags approach them. "But I can't help, but overhear that you all need exit vitas." She looked around nervously to make sure no one would listen in to their conversation. "Look for a man named Dimitri," she whispered. "He's in the abandoned palace. Go quickly! And remember you didn't hear it from me!" The old woman quickly fled in fear just in case a government official overheard.

"The palace?" Cynthia asked Anya.

"The Czar and his family used to live there before the revolution," Anya explained as they headed to the palace. "But during the revolution they were all killed, sadly."

After a short while, they arrived at the committed palace which was all boarded up. Even though it was falling apart and there were burn marks, one could still imagine what the castle looked like in its hay day.

"This place is huge!" Max commented at the palace gates.

"It's a perfect place for squatters," Cynthia remarked as she opened the gates.

They somberly walked through the palace grounds not unlike pious men entering a church. A strange familiar feeling overcame Cynthia as she wandered through the castle. She could not shake off this strange sensation of nostalgia. The keyblader looked over at Anya and sensed that the young woman also experiencing the same emotions.

"This place is weird," Cynthia said at last.

Anya nodded her head in agreement as they entered the dusty dance hall. "It's like a memory from a dream…" She looked around the room letting everything sink in. "I feel something here…," she placed her hands over her heart, "…something in here… in my heart… There's just sadness in this room…, but there's also some warmth." She fumbled with her necklace. "It's such a strange feeling… It's also feels as if I'm coming home…"

"Who's here?!" boomed a voice. The group turned around and saw a young man coming at them. He was around Anya's age and had reddish-brown hair. Following him was a large, fat man with dark hair and glasses. "I said, what are all of you doing here?" the young man spoke again. Then he took a look at Cynthia and Anya. "Oh, I see. Are you here for the part?"

"What part?" Max said keeping a hand on his sword's hilt in case if the situation gets messy.

"The part of…" The man stopped for a moment and took a hard look at Anya. The woman was standing in front of a tapestry depicting the now deceased Czar's family. Anya unknowingly was next to an image of the grand duchess Anastasia and the young man's jaw dropped. Anya looked like she could be an older Anastasia!

"Vlad!" he said excitedly to the older fat man. "Vladimir, do you see what I see?"

"See what?" Vladimir said confused. The young man adjusted Vlad's glasses and the old man saw what young colleague saw. "You're right, Dimitri. She could be the one!"

Cynthia looked at her friends. They were all unsure what to make of the two strangers. "Are you Dimitri?" the keyblader asked the young man.

"That all depends on who's looking for him," Dimitri slyly stated.

"My name's Anya and these are my friends. We need travel papers to leave the country," Anya said as Dimitri was looking her over. "We were told you're the man to see. What are you doing?!"

"Being a pervert, probably," Cynthia said summoning her keyblade.

"What? No!" Dimitri defended himself. "It's just she looks exactly like… Never mind. Anya is it? Is there a last name that goes with it?"

"Actually this is going to sound crazy," Anya confessed. "I don't know my last name. I was found wandering around when I was eight years old. Before that… I don't know. I have little to no memories of my past."

"Hmm… That's perfect…," Dimitri whispered to himself.

"I have one clue, however," Anya took out her necklace. "And that is Paris. So can you two help us get to Paris or not?"

"What a coincidence! Vlad and I are going to Paris ourselves." Dimitri pulled out several tickets and waved them in front of the group. "Unfortunately, we can't leave without her," he pointed to the tapestry, "The lost grand duchess Anastasia."

"We are going to reunite Anastasia with her grandmother, the empress" Vladimir spoke.

"And you look _exactly_ like her," Dimitri urged. "You're the same age, the same body type…"

"You think that Anya's royalty?" PJ asked in amazement.

"It sounds like you are trying to pull off a scam to me," Cynthia said with her arms crossed. "You both are crazy."

"What's so crazy about it?" Dimitri questioned. "Anya, you don't remember your past right?"

"No one knows what happened to Anastasia," Vlad added.

"You are seeking family in Paris."

"Anastasia's only family is in Paris."

"I don't know," Anya said bitterly. "It's hard to see yourself as a duchess when you're an orphanage sleeping on cold damp floors. Though, I suppose, every girl when they are young dreams that they are a princess."

"And somewhere one girl is!" Vlad said.

"And that girl we're taking to see her grandmother," Dimitri said as he and Vlad began to walk away. "It's too bad you don't believe that you're Anastasia. You and your friends could have traveled to Paris with us."

When Dimitri and Vlad were out of earshot Anya looked at the tapestry again. "What do you guys think?" she asked Cynthia and the others. "Could I really be the grand duchess?"

"Please don't tell me you are actually entertaining that thought," Cynthia said. "Those two are scam artists."

"Maybe so, but those two can get to Paris."

"But isn't that a little dishonest?" PJ asked.

"Do you guys have any other plan to get to Paris?" Cynthia, Max, and PJ shook their heads. "Well then, it's settled," Anya clasped her hands together. "We are going with Dimitri."

Dimitri and Vlad slowly walked away from the group. When they were out of earshot, Vladimir turned to the young man and huffed. "Why didn't you let them in on the plan? Now we are letting a golden opportunity slip through our fingers."

"Relax, Vlad," Dimitri reassured. "All they want to do is get to Paris. Besides, do you really want to split the reward money six ways? They will come crawling back to us in three… two… one…"

"Dimitri!" Anya called out.

"Told ya," the young man smiled at his comrade. He turned to Anya and the others. "Oh, do you say something?"

"If I don't remember who I am then who's to say that I am not a duchess or a princess or whatever she was supposed to be, right?" Anya rationalized. "And if I'm not Anastasia the empress would know right away and we can say it's all an honest mistake."

"Sounds plausible," Dimitri nodded his head.

"But if you are Anastasia," Vlad said, "then you will be reunited with your family."

"Either way, it gets you to Paris. So do we have a deal," Dimitri offered his hand.

"A deal," Anya shook it.

"Begrudgingly," Cynthia added.

"Cynthia…," a voice echoed throughout the palace.

"Who's there?" Dimitri called out.

"Who knows that we are on this world?" Max whispered to the keyblader.

"I don't know…," Cynthia replied. "I don't recognize the voice."

Then a small white bat flew in their sight and headed straight toward them. "Cynthia," the bat called out. "It's good to see ya. Remember me? It's me, Bartok!"

"A BAT!" the keyblader screamed. She summoned her keyblade and started flailing it in the air wildly. "Get it away! Get it away! Get it away!" she continued to scream.

"Whoa, Cynthia," Bartok called out constantly dodging the keyblader's attacks. "What's the deal here?! I thought we were friends!"

With supernatural strength, Cynthia picked up PJ and held him over her head. "I HATE BATS!" she screamed and tossed PJ at the bat.

Lucky for Bartok, Cynthia missed and he flew away into the deep crevices of the castle.

Cynthia collapsed on the floor, shaking like a leaf. Her breath was shallow though she was trying to take deep breaths.

"So….," Max put in his hands in his pockets and made a good effort to not burst out laughing. "Is that bat a friend of yours?"

The keyblader stared daggers at Max. "NO, IT ISN'T A FRIEND!" she yelled.

"Really? Cause it seem to know you."

Still shaking, Cynthia tried to put into words what she felt in her heart. "I…. hate…. BATS!"

"More like you're afraid of them," Max commented. "You got a serious phobia going there."

"When I calm down, I'm going to kick you into next week!" Cynthia gritted.

"Okay," Dimitri clasped his hands together. "That was… interesting to say the least. But now that this little episode is over I suggest we leave for Paris."

The group nodded and began to leave the building. "Come on, Peej," Max called out to his friend lying on the floor. "We're leaving."

"Nobody is going ask if I'm okay or not?" PJ wept to himself as he got up and followed the group outside.

Bartok watched the group leave from a balcony ledge. "How come Cynthia doesn't remember me?" he said sadly. "Sure it has been years and I have put on a little weight, but I shouldn't be unrecognizable. I mean, how many white bats are there in the world?" The bat sat and pondered and pondered. "Wait a minute, I remember now! Didn't Cynthia and the others said…."

_**(Bartok's flashback)**_

Years and years ago, Bartok and his friends watched as the young prince was escorted back into the palace. With the help of his new friends they bumbled their way into saving Russia. A giant keyhole appeared above the castle and one of the four keybladers (that's right, four) raised his keyblade and locked the world.

"There," said the keyblade with short brown hair. He was wearing a dark shirt with a brown leather jacket. He had on blue jeans and brown boots on. "This world's past is safe. It wasn't as difficult as _Nome_."

"Don't remind me," said another keyblader with scraggly hair. "I hate the freezing cold. Though, this place isn't exactly the Bahamas."

"It least we made it out in the end," an older looking Cynthia said as she lovingly grabbed his hand and stared at her husband's eyes.

"Barely," said a blonde keyblader with medium length hair, blue jeans and a powder blue tank top. "It was lucky that you three were able to get that vaccine into Nome. From the patients I've treated, that was one disease that I didn't want to get."

"That in the past; we already saved that world. What matters is that we saved this one and that Prince Ivan is safe," Cynthia smiled.

"Indeed," said a bear wearing a green vest and a green top hat. The bear name was Zozi and was Bartok's longtime friend who fancied himself as a thespian. "Shakespeare himself couldn't write a better ending. Now my fellow travelers on this ever winding road we call life, where does its path lead for you all?"

"To the present," said the leather jacket wearing keyblader, "if we're lucky."

"I don't understand," said Bartok.

"Don't worry about it," the keyblader said.

"Wait a minute," Cynthia said before her and the other keybladers left. She bent down on one knee and picked up Bartok. "Sorry I tried to kill you when we first met then forced my husband to attack you, Bartok. It was silly of me to be afraid of you simply because you are different."

"It's all water under the bridge," the bat reinsured her. "I'm pretty sure if I was someone else I would want to kill me too."

Cynthia laughed a little and sighed. "There's one more thing I have to tell you. Years and years from now I will returned to this world. However, it will be the younger me. And she…or I… will try to attack you again. I apologize in advance for that." The bat tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Too make a long story short; time-traveling is a pain in the butt."

_**(End of Bartok's flashback)**_

"So it's time travel…," Bartok pondered out loud as he leaned against a green glowing artifact. "So the Cynthia I just saw is the past self of the Cynthia I knew all those years ago?" The bat scratched his head in puzzlement. "Cynthia was right. Time travel is a pain in the-" It was then when he first noticed the glowing object. "What?! It's been activated?!" he jumped back in surprise.

The object was a glowing green vial attached to a base. A brass snake coiled around it with a metal skull on top of vial. The artifact began to levitate still casting off its evil glow.

"That can't be," Bartok said to himself. "All of the Romanoffs are dead; deader than a doornail. Unless…," he reached to a conclusion. "That girl is Anastasia! She's alive! That means that…"

The vial then floated to the center of the ballroom and spun around slowly. Black smoke and wisp of green evil magic gathered together and formed into a vortex. An evil-looking man with dark hair and a long beard came out of the vortex. He was wearing the clothes of a monk, but he wasn't a holy man. When he was alive he posed as one to be at the Czar's side, but when the truth came out he was cast out of the palace. In fury, the wizard sold his soul to place a curse on the Romanoff family, sparking the revolution and leading to the deaths of most of the Czar's family.

"Master Rasputin!" Bartok flew down. "You're alive!"

"In a matter of speaking," Rasputin spat as one of his eyeballs fell out. The wizard quickly caught it and put it back in its socket. "Something must have happened. I can feel the dark forces stirring!"

"Maybe it's because Anastasia's alive. I just saw her," the bat offered.

"Anastasia?" Rasputin questioned, "alive? That's why my soul was stuck in limbo! My curse was unfulfilled!" He grabbed the floating glowing artifact in wicked glee. "Yes, the key to my dark powers. With it my dark purpose will be fulfilled!"

"Well, sir," Bartok said nervously. "There's a little problem; A bump on the road, if you will."

"Out with it!" the wizard demanded.

"There's a keyblader with Anastasia."

"A keyblader?" Rasputin interrogated. "What is a keyblader?"

"They are these very powerful humans with the ability to summon a giant magical key. They're very strong and can cast powerful magic spells."

The dark wizard grabbed hold of the bat. "You seem to know a lot about these keybladers."

"I have a life outside of you, ya know."

Rasputin stroked his beard thoughtfully. "This power interests me… Do they have any known weakness?"

The bat scratched his head. "Uh… Oh! They tend to fight powerful creatures known as the Heartless."

"The Heartless you say?" The wizard pondered this. "I heard tales of them when my soul was wandering the dark realms of the hereafter." He stretched out his hand and several dark portals appeared in front of him. A whole horde of Heartless came out of them ready to obey their new master. "Yes, these creatures will serve my dark purpose," he laughed. "The last of the Romanoffs will die and that power… the power of the keyblader shall be mine!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, Sulley, and Mike ran through the halls of Monsters, Inc. desperately seeking the little girl Boo. Everywhere they go monsters would shriek and jump out of their way, scared to be in the presence of both Trevor and Miranda. A siren then went off and the red emergency lights were turned on. "Human world breach. Human world breach," the alarm kept saying over and over again. The group tried to ignore the chaos and kept running.

Miranda started laughing and Trevor looked at her quizzically. "Miranda, what's so funny?"

"Look around you," the blonde cop laughed. "We are surrounded by the most fearsome creatures I ever seen in my life and they are all afraid of us! In this world, we're the monsters of _their_ nightmares!"

"This hasn't been a cakewalk, missy!" Mike complained. "Look how much chaos was created because one human child has entered our world! When this is all over, take the human child and never set your venomous claws here again!"

"Humans don't have venom or claws," Miranda continued to laugh. "In fact, almost everything you think about humans is false!"

"Yeah, it's making me feel bad," Trevor huffed as he felt his head beginning to hurt. "Brandy, remind me to never make fun of anyone ever again."

"Excuse me?" Miranda said with an arched eyebrow.

"What? What's the matter?"

"You just called me Brandy."

"I did?" Trevor said confused. "Why would I do that? I don't even know a Brandy!"

**KH-KH-KH**

It's been several days since Cynthia, Anya, and the others set off for Paris. Most of the time Dimitri and Vladimir were teaching Anya on how to act and behave like a duchess. The young woman took to the lessons surprisingly well, almost as if it was second nature to her. They also taught her the family history of the Romanoff family and pressed her to memorize it. When the group reached Germany they took a ship that would sail them to France. Vlad was teaching Anya how to waltz using Dimitri as her partner.

"You dance really well," Dimitri complimented.

"Thank you," Anya said. She was now wearing a beautiful flowing blue dress and had her hair down. The young woman was looking like a duchess with each passing day.

"And that blue dress really looks good on you. And I'm not just saying that. I mean it looked good on the rack, but it looks beautiful on you. You should wear it some time."

"But I am wearing it."

"Oh…right."

Cynthia, Vlad, Max, and PJ watched the two danced. Vladimir chuckled and gently elbowed the keyblader. "I should have never let them dance," he said to her. "Now they just might fall in love."

"I think it's too late for that," Cynthia responded. "Look at them. They look like a couple at a school dance."

"Oh, I hope Anya is really the princess or duchess or whatever," PJ sighed. "That would be really something, right Max?"

The dog-teen just shrugged his shoulders.

Anya and Dimitri lean closer to each other as if they were going to kiss. However, before they could Dimitri pulled away. "You're doing great," he said and walked away leaving behind a very confused Anya.

Cynthia sighed heavily. "Leave it to a guy to mess things up."

Back in Russia, Rasputin spied on them using his magical powers. The evil mystic created a large crystal ball to show him everything he needed to see. He gave a dark chuckle as he rubbed his hands on the crystal ball. "Soon Anastasia, you will sleep. And when you do you cannot escape my influences. The darkness will find you, child. When you least expect it."

Later that night, below deck in their sleeping quarters, Anya was fiddling with a ceramic, elegantly painted box that was in the shape of an egg she found in Dimitri's bag. "What is this?" she asked Vlad.

The old man shrugged. "It's just an old jewelry box."

"I don't know…," Anya said looking it over. "I have a feeling that it could be something more… Do you think that is possible?"

"In this world, anything is possible," Vladimir laughed before turning in for the night.

Anya looked over and saw Max and PJ already asleep on the floor. She too decided to go to bed. She silently said goodnight to Pooka, blew out the candle, and went to sleep. As she drifted soundly into a deep sleep, Rasputin used his magic to alter her dreams. She dreamed of being in a beautiful field with butterflies of every color surrounding her. When she looked up she saw a young boy enticing her to follow him. Anya laughed cheerily and followed the boy in her dream, unaware that she was sleepwalking in real life.

Meanwhile, Dimitri was outside the sleeping quarters quietly thinking to himself. Cynthia walked up and confronted him. "What's the matter? Having second thoughts about using Anya?" the keyblader said with her arms crossed.

"What are you talking about?" Dimitri sighed.

"I'm not a fool," Cynthia said. "I know that you and Vladimir are only doing this for the money. You don't care about the empress, your country, or if Anya is Anastasia or not."

"Your point is?" the young man said a little bit miffed.

"The point is that Anya is beginning to develop feelings for you. And I think you are also developing feelings for her."

"That's crazy," Dimitri turned to leave.

"Is it? The scam you are trying to pull on the empress could stop now. You and Anya could have a happy life together. Life is not all about the money."

"And how would you know?"

Before Cynthia could respond, they heard Pooka started barking, and the door behind them flew opened. Anya walked out and headed for the deck still asleep.

"Anya?" They both said in shock. Before they could reach her two Heartless appeared and blocked their path. These large Heartless had grey stony, bulky bodies and where in the shape of a gargoyle. They had puny bat wings, large curved horns on their head, and the Heartless emblem on their chest. This new type of Heartless was called Earth Fiend.

"Crap!" Cynthia cursed as he summoned her keyblade. "Max! PJ!" she yelled into the cabin. "We're under attack!"

Max and PJ tried to rush out, but they stumbled and fell when they got to the doorway. Pooka leapt over them and ran after Anya.

"What's going on?!" Max yelled, but then he saw the Heartless. "Oh that…"

PJ raised his staff and casted a spell. "**Comet!**" he yelled and blasted one of the Heartless, sending it crashing to the wall.

"Nice work, PJ," Cynthia praised as she charged the other Heartless. She managed to get three hits in before the Heartless backed up and punched her using both fists.

The keyblader stumbled a little bit, but Max and Dimitri came to the rescue. Dimitri tackled the Heartless' leg causing it to fall over. The dog-teen then ran over and stabbed the monster, defeating it and releasing its heart.

The other Heartless got up and ran toward them. It raised its right hand and fired several stones at the group. Cynthia dodged the projectiles and charged at the monster. After striking it with her keyblade three times, she jumped up and kicked it to the ground. PJ used _Graviga_ and the second Heartless was destroyed.

"We need to find Anya and fast," the keyblader told Max and PJ. "Before the Heartless attacked, it was like she was in a daze."

The four of them ran up to the deck of the ship and saw Anya standing on the railing, blissfully unaware of the danger she was in. Pooka was barking at her begging her to wake up. In her mind she was still in the peaceful field of her dreams about to jump into a small pond with her father Czar Nicholas II urging her to join him. When she hesitated, the Czar transformed into a monstrous bat-like creature and reached up to pull her down.

"The Romanoff curse must be fulfilled," it said in a demonic voice.

Anya screamed and tried to get away. She awoke from her nightmare finding herself in Dimitri's arms. "The Romanoff curse!" she cried hysterically. "It's after me!"

"What do you say?" Dimitri said in shock.

"Uh… guys…," PJ sheepishly said while pointing to the sky. Pooka was also barking at something in the sky. "We got company!"

Dozens of airborne Heartless were descending on the ship. They were like the Earth Fiend, but had slimmer green bodies. Their horns were shorter and their wingspans were three times the length of their physiques. Green wisps of fire constantly surrounded them. They were known as Fire Fiend. When the Heartless got close to the ship, they started firing _Firaga_ spells at the group.

"I'm starting to get annoyed," Max said as he hacked away at the creatures of darkness.

"Just keep attacking," Cynthia urged on. "I'm sure at will be over soon!"

Then another horde of aerial Heartless appeared. A whole legion of Hook Bats floated down on ship screeching like mad.

"Aaaahhhhhhhhh!" Cynthia screamed as she ran for cover. "Why did it had to be bats?!"

The Hook Bats seemed to laugh and went after Anya. Using their red hooks on the bottom of their bodies they picked the young woman up and started carrying her away.

Anya screamed for help, but Cynthia remained frozen.

"Cynthia, you have to save Anya," Max yelled slicing another Fire Fiend.

"Why me?" the keyblader protested. "Can't you, PJ, or Dimitri handle the situation?"

"As you can see, me and Peej are too busying fighting off the Fire Fiend Heartless at the moment. And Dimitri doesn't have any special powers to attack the Heartless effectively. That only leaves you!"

"But…"

"I know you hate bats, but remember they aren't really bats; they're just Heartless in the shape of bats. We know you can do it!"

"We believe in you!" PJ added as he cast _Graviga_ on a group of Heartless.

Even though she was about ten seconds away from curling into the fetal position, Cynthia took several deep breaths and stood up. She charged through the score of Hook Bats cringing all the way. The keyblader swung her weapon wildly and managed to get some hits in. When she spotted the two Hook Bats that were taking Anya away she jumped up and grabbed a stray Hook Bat's hook and started swinging on it. After the third swing, she let go and somersaulted in air. Once she was over the two Heartless she destroyed them with two quick swipes of her keyblade. She landed safely on the deck while Anya was caught by Dimitri.

"Are you all right?" the young man said to Anya.

"Yes," Anya said.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I'm sure I'm not," Cynthia said placing her hand on the young woman's shoulder. The keyblader notice that her hand was glowing and when she pulled it away from Anya it stopped. She slowly moved her hand toward Anya and it began to glow again. _'Huh. I wonder…,'_ she thought. "Anya, let me see your hand," Cynthia commanded. The young woman obliged and the keyblader grabbed her hand and lifted it in the air. "_Limit Breaker:_ **Royal Rain!**"

Both Cynthia and Anya started to give off a golden glow. Suddenly, dozens of streams of golden light fell from the sky and started wiping out the Heartless around them. The attack was so effective that it terminated every single Heartless.

Anya and Cynthia let off of each other's hand and just stared at each other.

Before they could say anything, Dimitri grabbed Anya's hand. "Are you okay?" he repeated.

"Yes…," Anya weakly said unsure what has happened.

Dimitri held her below deck, leaving Cynthia, Max, and PJ behind.

"I thought you can't use magic," Max said to the keyblader.

"I can't," Cynthia said. "Not without using my Drive Form."

"Then how were you able to use that Limit Breaker with Anya? It not like she has any special skills or powers."

"I don't know…," the keyblader said deep in thought. "This world is filled with secrets and I feel like we have only scratched the surface of it. But I'm worried about Anya and that Heartless battle. Anya was walking around like she was in a trance and the Heartless specifically targeted her."

"But that mean that someone is controlling the Heartless of this world!" PJ gasped.

"I'm afraid that's the case," Cynthia said.

"But who would want to kill Anya?" Max crossed his arms.

"That's what we need to find out," the keyblade explained. "We need to keep a close eye on Anya."

"No, no, no, NOOOOOOOO!" Rasputin yelled when he saw that his Heartless had failed. He banged his fist on his crystal ball again and an image of Cynthia appeared. "Blast this keyblader!" he cursed. "I have underestimated her power! But never again!"

"Well, I told you Master, those keybladers are a bunch of tough cookies," Bartok said. "Especially Cynthia; you don't want to cross her path!"

"I'm beginning to see that."

"Well, it's not a total lost," the bat picked up the glowing vial. "At least you proved that you can make the Heartless do your bidding. I guess you don't need this anymore." The henchman then tossed the artifact.

Frantically, Rasputin dove to catch the artifact before it could shatter on the ground. Angrily, the dark mystic grabbed Bartok and shook him. "You fool! Do you know what this is?! It's a conduit for my dark powers; I stole my soul for this! It's my only link to the world of the living; the only reason why I am here!"

"I get it, I get it! You break it, you brought it!" the white bat said trying to calm down his master.

The wizard drummed his fingers on the table in front of him. "I'm starting to realize if I am going to kill Anastasia and steal the power of the keyblade I'll need to do it in person. As the old saying goes: 'if you want something done right, do it yourself!'"

"But Master, in your undead condition? You're practically falling apart at the seams."

"With the powers of darkness I shall be all right. Besides I have such lovely memories of Paris. It's time to create a new one by finishing off the Romanoff bloodline once and for all!"

"If you don't mind, sir, I'll stay here," Bartok said nervously. "This could only end in tears, I just know it."

**KH-KH-KH**

"I should never have agreed to this…," a crab-like monster with seven fingers on each hand said out loud. He focused his five eyes at the monster strapping a little girl to an apparatus. They were in a secluded, hidden room filled with machinery. "Thanks to you, Randall, I had to banish my top scarer!"

The monster known as Randall glanced over for a second before continuing with his work. He was a slender purple lizard-like monster with eight limbs. He's a master of camouflage and can blend into any environment. "After we mass produce these babies we wouldn't need scarers anymore," he hissed. He was gesturing to a machine that looked like an extended ray gun that was pointed right at the frightened little girl. "Besides Mr. Waternoose, Sullivan had it coming."

"Sullivan was twice the scarer that you will ever be!" Waternoose yelled at Randall.

The purple monster snorted. "Some scarer. Not even the famous Sullivan could solve the scare shortage problem. Face the facts, Waternoose, your company is about to go under. Me and my machine are the solution to your problems; not the golden boy, Sullivan." He snapped his fingers and summoned a Soldier Heartless. "Start up the machine!" he ordered. The Heartless saluted and went to his post.

"And that's another thing," Waternoose said as he stared wary at the creature of darkness. "Why are you using such foul creatures? I don't like the looks of them. Their presence alone is enough to send shivers down my spine."

Randall just shrugged. "They showed up out of the blue one day; we might as well use them. As a business man you should appreciate them. Think of them as a source of free labor." The monster snapped his fingers and the Heartless booted up the machine.

The vile machine's nozzle extended itself aiming for Boo. The little girl struggled with all her might, but couldn't get free. Everyone heard a roar and Sulley burst in and ripped the machine apart. "Kitty!" Boo rejoiced seeing her savior.

Sulley ripped open the apparatus Boo was in and yanked her out. "Are you okay, Boo?" the big blue monster asked full of concern. Boo's giggling was her response.

"Sullivan!" Randall hissed. "So nice for you to show up."

"He didn't come alone," Trevor yelled as he and the others ran into the secret lair.

Randall seemed stunned for a minute, but then shook it off. "Hey, just more people to party with. I think it's time for you to get banish again, Sullivan, but this time to the afterlife!"

The lizard-like monster snapped his fingers and several Heartless appeared. This new type of Heartless are known as Shadow Imps. They had deep purple bodies, yellow eyes, and a maniac smile with two sharp fangs. They were short in structure; about 2'5". They wore a tiger printed loincloth and brandish a large red pitchfork. The Heartless emblem was tattooed on their heads right between their two slightly curved horns. They have the tendency to bounce around continuously while laughing to themselves.

The Heartless didn't waste any time. One of them cast _Thundaga_ and another cast _Blizzaga_. Both spells hit Trevor sending him crashing to the wall. All the Heartless started chuckling, delighting in their gambit.

"A bunch of smart alecks, eh?" the keyblader hissed as he got up.

He was about to cast _Blizzaga_, but one of the Heartless raised its pitchfork and grey swirls of magic surrounded it as the creature rapidly chanted in its nonsensical language. It pointed its weapon at the keyblader and a magic seal appeared beneath Trevor's feet. Trevor found that his magic was blocked off; he can no longer access his mana.

"I don't believe it!" Trevor said shocked. "They cast _Silence_ on me!"

"Well, let's see how they like it!" Bonkers said as he gathered up his mana. "**Silence!**" the cartoon cast and magic seals appeared beneath all the Heartless in the room.

One of the Heartless put its forefinger and middle finger in its mouth and let out a sharp whistle. A dark portal appeared and an additional Shadow Imp leaped out of it. It landed and made a noise that sounded like 'Ta-da!' The new Heartless brought its pitchfork crashing down and all of the _Silence_ seals were destroyed for its fellow Heartless.

"They know _Vox_?!" Trevor yelled in astonishment knowing that _Vox_ was one of the few spells that can cure _Silence_.

"Enough of this foolishness," Miranda said as she took out her sword and started hacking away at the Heartless.

Sulley handed Boo to Mike. "Mike, watch Boo for me." The blue monster then charged into the fray helping the blonde cop.

It was a valiant effort, both the cop and the monster was destroying Heartless left and right. The Shadow Imps had very low defense and hit points so terminating them was easy. However, for every Heartless that was killed, three more Shadow Imps would pop up. Soon the whole room was filled with a sea of Shadow Imps, making moving around the cramp space difficult.

"We need to get out of here," Trevor called out as he slashed at the Heartless in front of him.

Sulley grabbed Boo from Mike and the whole gang ran from the hidden room.

The whole horde of Shadow Imps poured into the hallways of Monsters, Inc. and started chasing them. "Destroy them," Randall ordered the Heartless. "And bring the girl back alive."

"How on earth are we going to defeat these things? There's no end to them!" Mike questioned as they ran through the hallways.

"Trevor, can't you use _Ultima_ or summon someone to deal with the Heartless?" Miranda asked.

"I'm still inflicted by the Silence condition," the keyblader responded. "And even if I could summon someone, I won't. Bahamut would only destroy the whole place and Lazlo and his friends aren't powerful enough to deal with them."

"Then let's cure your Silence so you can use _Ultima_!"

"We can't; none of us knows _Vox_! …It least I don't think we know _Vox_. Whiskers, do you know _Vox_?"

"Who is Whiskers?" the bobcat asked.

"Whiskers? I didn't say Whiskers, did I?"

"Yeah, you did," Mike said.

Miranda sighed, turned around, and readied her katana. "Ryû-ô-jin!" she yelled. She brought her sword down and unleashed a huge energy wave. The attack destroyed half of the encroaching Heartless horde, but more were starting to appear.

"Wow Miranda," Trevor said impressed. "It's been a while since you used one of the techniques that Kurogane has taught you."

"Well you know, I was saving it for a special occasion," the blonde swordswoman huffed.

"So what's the plan?" the keyblader asked Sulley.

"We go back to the scarefloor, find Boo's door, and return her to her world," the monster answered back.

They made a right wandering into another hallway, but found it filled with monsters wearing yellow hazmat suits.

"It's the CDA!" Mike yelled.

One of the CDA agents noticed them and screamed. "There they are!" it cried. "The horrible humans! Get them!" The CDA agents then reluctantly started charging at them.

"Quick, I know of another way!" Sulley yelled as they turned around and went down another corridor.

Now the whole group was being chase by Heartless and the Child Detection Agency. Only Boo, who was very young and didn't fully understand what was going on, was having the time of her life. She started to laugh and the lights went berserk. They grew brighter and brighter until they overloaded and shattered.

"What just happened?!" Bonkers yelled.

"It happens every time she laughs," Mike huffed. "The power just goes crazy! You humans are mutants, I tell ya!"

"Says the thing with one eye," Miranda retorted.

They finally reached the scarefloor. Sulley pulled out a keycard and scan it on one of the consoles. A white door with pink flowers appeared overhead running along on the conveyor belt. Before the door could reach them, the CDA, Randall, and the Heartless burst in.

"Looks like it's time for Plan B!" Sulley pressed a button on the console and a whole series of doors came flooding out of the metal tunnel overhead.

"Grab on!" he yelled. He, Mike, and Boo jumped and grabbed on to the door behind Boo's closet door. Trevor, Miranda, and Bonkers grabbed onto the door behind them.

As they disappeared into the metal tunnel, Randall sneered at them. "They are not getting away that easy!" he stated and jumped and grabbed a passing door.

At the end of tunnel was an enormous room filled with stored closet doors. The room got to be fifty stories high at least. Thousands upon thousands of doors were stacked up neatly waiting to be summoned.

"Whoa," was the only thing that Trevor could say.

They heard rustling behind them and saw the ever-too-familiar purple monster hopping from door to door trying to get to them.

"Randall is gaining on us!" Bonkers yelled.

"Quick make Boo laugh," Sulley told Mike.

The small round Cyclops then pulled his eyelid and made a funny face resulting in a chorus of giggles from Boo. All the lights above the doors lit up and Sulley opened the door he was holding on to. "Quick, everybody get in!"

The group jumped in the door and quickly shut it behind them. They found themselves in a boy's room with toys; it was obviously cleaned up by the mother.

"What do we do now?" Miranda asked.

"Find another closet door!" Sulley called out.

They ran to the next room, which seemed to belong to the boy's younger brother, and ran into the closet and found themselves back at the door storage area in Monsters, Inc.

They kept going in and out closet doors trying to elude Randall. It was a mind-blowing experience for the keyblader. Every few seconds they found themselves on a different world. He could have sworn they were briefly on _Port Royal_, _Radiant Garden_, and the _Big Apple_.

When the group re-entered the monster world for the tenth time, they found themselves surrounded by the CDA, Randall, and a couple of his Heartless. The only other door available for their use was a taped up closet door behind the horde. The words on the warning tape were the words: _Warning! This door does not lead to a child's room!_

"Looks like we have to fight our way out," Trevor sighed.

**KH-KH-KH**

Cynthia, Anya, Max, PJ, Dimitri, and Vlad all arrived in the city of Paris. Dimitri was giving Anya a quick refresher course on Anastasia's family history.

"I few days ago I had no past, but now I have to try and remember a whole lifetime," Anya grumbled as they walked up the steps of the empress' Parisian house.

"That's why you have me around," Dimitri said. "If we are going to see the empress we have to convince her cousin Sophia."

They knocked on the door and a plump blonde woman answered it. "Vladimir Vanya Voinitsky Vasilovich," she flirted with Vlad.

"Sophie, my little cream puff," Vlad flirted back.

"What brings you to Paris," Sophie then looked at the others. "Oh, and with such a large company? Come in, come in!"

Once they were inside, Vlad stepped aside and said, "May I present the Grand Duchess Anastasia."

Anya walked up and Sophia quickly inspected her. "Oh my, she does _look_ like Anastasia. But then again, so did the others girls who pretended to be her. Please, all of you sit." For hours Sophia grilled Anya asking her question after question. The young woman got every one of them thanks to lessons Vlad and Dimitri gave her. "Very good, very good," Sophia said before taking a sip of tea. "One more question, you may find it unimportant compare to the other ones, but needless to say I have to ask it. How did you survive and got away when the revolutionists stormed the castle?"

Vlad and Dimitri's faces fell; they never thought to coach Anya about that question.

Anya was quiet for a moment looking deep with her heart. A spark of memory was ignited and as the spark slowly smolder, fuzzy memories rose to the surface. "There was… there was a boy who worked at the palace…," she began. "He opened a wall revealing a secret passage…" Dimitri looked over at Anya completely shocked, but nobody noticed. "I'm sorry," Anya laughed. "That was silly; walls opening and such."

"No, that is correct," Sophia said. "You have answered every single question correctly. But I'm afraid you can't see the empress. She doesn't want to see any woman claiming to be Anastasia."

"But Sophia, my pet," Vlad pleaded. "We must see the empress!"

"But she does not wish to see you," everyone turned around to see a tall, statuesque old woman filled with regal pride. She slowly entered the room and gave everyone an icy stare. "Quite a large group of con artists," she commented, "The largest yet. Ladies and gentlemen, and I use the term loosely; I do not wish to see anymore fakes. How many times must an old woman's heart be broken? I have seen enough 'Anastasias' to last me a lifetime."

"Your grace, wait," Dimitri said. "My name is Dimitri and you got to listen to me." He pointed to Anya. "That woman right there is the _real_ Anastasia. Believe me, there's no doubt about it."

"Dimitri?" the empress said thoughtfully. "Yes, I heard of you. The con man from St. Petersburg who was holding auditions, looking for girls to pose as Anastasia so you can collect the reward money." Anya grasped in shock, Cynthia shook her head, while Dimitri just hung his low. "Why must you play with an old woman's pain? I have suffered enough in life and I wish to live the remainder of it in peace. Now if you would, please leave."

"Wait," Dimitri urged one more time. He reached into his pocket and out the small jewelry box.

The empress gasped and delicately took the box. "Where did you find this?" she demanded to know.

Before Dimitri could answer Anya got up and politely bowed to the empress. "I'm so sorry," she said as she started fiddling with her necklace. "This was all a big misunderstanding. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"My dear, where do you get that necklace?" the empress questioned.

"Oh this," Anya said meekly. "I had this since before I can remember." The empress gently held the necklace and lifted it up next to the jewelry box. Anya gasped in revelation. "It's not a jewelry box," Anya said. "It's a music box… and the necklace is the key to it." She grabbed both the box and its key and wind the music box up. The music box opened up and started playing a lullaby. The young woman started humming as the song played. Then lyrics floated in her mind as she slowly remembered them. "Hear this song and remember…" she sang.

The empress joined in and the two smiled. "Soon you'll be home with me. Once upon a December," they sang.

"I remember…," Anya said softly. "You use to sing this to me, before you leave for Paris …So I won't be lonely when you're gone."

The old woman had a tear in her eye. "This music box and the lullaby was a secret that only me and my Anastasia shared. And now she has come back to me."

The two embraced and started to cry. "I remember," Anya, or should we say Anastasia, cried happily. "I remembered it all!"

"Come, we must celebrate!" the empress. "All of you are invited too," she said happily to the group. "Thank you for bringing my Anastasia back to me! Come Anastasia, we have so much catching up to do!" The empress, Anastasia, and Sophia left, all filled with excitement and overflowing with joy.

When the three were gone and out of earshot, Vladimir jumped up and clapped his hands with joy. "We done it, Dimitri!" he rejoiced. "Who knew that Anya was a good actress; I also believed her! But now, we are rich!"

"I don't think Anya was acting," PJ said.

"PJ's right, Vlad," Dimitri said sadly. "Anya was telling the truth. You see, I was the boy who opened the wall and saved the empress and Anastasia's life; back when I was a kitchen boy for the imperial court. Don't you see? Anya really is Anastasia."

"Oh…," Vlad said softly. "Then that means we have reunited Anya with her true family… and that we have found the true heir to the Russian throne!"

"Looks like your greed ended up doing some good," Cynthia huffed.

"What do you want from me?" Dimitri hissed. "Look, she has found her place in the world. And now she no longer belongs in mine…" He turned to leave.

"Dimitri, where are you going?" Vladimir inquired. "We have to get ready for Anya's celebration."

Dimitri sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to clear my head. I will be back… whenever." He walked out the door with his head hung low.

Later that night, everyone was at the theater about to see a Russian ballet. The empress was seated at her balcony box along with Sophia and Vlad. Dimitri slowly walked in and sat next the empress.

"Here is your reward money," the empress said opening a box showing the young man the money. "I pray that you take it along with my gratitude."

"I will take your gratitude, but not your money," Dimitri sighed.

The empress closed the box and looked at the young man filled with curiosity. "I may be old, but I do recall some things. I know that you were the boy that saved me and Anastasia so long ago. You have save me and my granddaughter, reunited us, and now you want nothing in return. So my question is this: What do you want?"

"Nothing that you can give me," Dimitri said sadly as he got up.

"Why the change in mind?"

"It's more like a change of heart… Goodbye empress." The young man bowed then turned and left. In the hallway on the second floor he crossed paths with Anastasia, Cynthia, Max, and PJ.

Anastasia was looking lovely wearing her gold dress, blue sash, and diamond tiara, looking like the princess she is. Cynthia was wearing a purple dress, white pearls, long elbow length gloves, and had her hair tied up in a bun. Max and PJ were both wearing very dapper looking tuxedoes.

"Came to collect the reward money?" Anastasia said trying to hide her emotion.

"My business is my own," Dimitri simply stated. "Goodbye Anastasia." He turned and left.

The four let Dimitri pass them and entered the balcony box as the ballet was about to begin. Anastasia sighed; she found everything she was looking for and yet she still felt that there was something missing in her life, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"What's the matter, child?" the empress said to her. "Are you not happy?"

"Of course I am, grandma-ma," the duchess said. "I've found you, my past… It's everything I wanted and more. How can I not be happy?"

"You know, Anastasia, you were born into this life, filled with elaborated parties, jewels, and wealth. But I wonder… Is that what you really want?"

"I don't understand."

"Anastasia, seeing you after all these years and seeing the beautiful woman you have become has brought me more joy than I can ever imagine. But no matter what you choose, I will always love you and be here for you. I also have a feeling that Dimitri feels the same way."

"Dimitri? Ha!" Cynthia huffed. "He probably can't spend his money fast enough."

"Actually he refused to take the reward money," the empress stated. "He said he had a change of heart."

"He didn't take the money…," Anastasia said to herself. "I'm sorry grandma-ma, but I must find him!" She got up and ran out the door.

"Do as you must, child," the empress smiled.

"Wait Anastasia!" Cynthia called out as she, Max, and PJ ran after her. When they left the balcony and entered the hall, they saw Anastasia already racing down the stairs. "Damn, that girl can run fast in those heels," the keyblader commented to herself.

As Anastasia ran down the stairs she passed a dark figure. The figure momentarily glanced at her in curiosity then continued up the stairs. He stopped when he looked up and saw Cynthia and her friends at the top of the stairs.

"Vincent Valentine!" Cynthia spat as she summoned her keyblade.

"A keyblader…," the gunman said in mild interest. "I take it that you are one of Trevor's new friends."

"He's no friend of mine," the keyblader spat.

"Please, don't get her started," Max said as he took out his sword.

Cynthia ripped her dress off revealing her battle clothes underneath; Max did the same. PJ, however, didn't do anything.

"PJ, what are you waiting for?" Cynthia pressed.

"I didn't wear my normal clothes under the tuxedo," the cat-teen uttered. "Besides, even if I did, this suit's a rental, I can't damage it!"

"I didn't come here to fight with you," Vincent stated. "I have more important matters to attend to."

"You mean like attacking Anastasia?" Cynthia hissed.

"I don't know who that is nor do I care," the gunman spoke. "I am, however, looking for either Trevor or Kyle. Tell me where they are and I will try not to kill you." He raised his gun Cerberus at them. "Well, I'm waiting."

Then the oddest thing happened, the closet at the bottom of the stairs opened up and Trevor with several monsters from the CDA fell out.

"Trevor?" Cynthia said shocked.

"Cynthia?" Trevor said equally shocked.

"Trevor!" Vincent yelled as he ran down the stairs.

"Vincent!" Trevor yelled back as he readied his keyblade.

As the keyblader and the gunman clashed with one another, several more monsters and Heartless poured out of the closet. Bonkers came out of it fired multiple spell at the Heartless, Boo was seen riding Randall hitting with a giant stick she found making him involuntary changing colors, Sulley and Mike were fending off the panicked CDA, and lastly Miranda came out of the closet and shut the door behind her. She looked up the stairs and saw Cynthia, Max, and PJ all sporting blank confused looks. The blonde cop sheepishly smile at them and said, "It's been like this all day for us!"

Trevor felt the connection with his mana has been reestablished and thank God that he had access to his magic again. "**Aero!**" he casted.

The gunman, however, jumped to avoid the spell and started firing bullets.

Mike opened the closet door on the opposite wall and saw that it lead back to Monsters, Inc. "Guys, though here!" the Cyclops called out.

Trevor ran toward the door, but Vincent tackled him. The two rolled on the ground and rolled straight into the closet. Bonkers, Miranda, and Sulley destroyed most of the stray Heartless and chased the CDA through the closet. Mike was the last one through, but before he closed it behind him, he looked up at Cynthia and said, "You didn't see anything!"

"What just happened?" Cynthia questioned her two friends. The two just shrugged. "Whatever, we have to find Anastasia before the Heartless and whosever controlling them finds her first!"

**KH-KH-KH**

Trevor and Vincent fell through the doorway and landed on the scarefloor in Monsters, Inc. As they were both wrestling with each other on the floor, the remaining Heartless, the CDA, all the other monsters, Boo, Bonkers, and Miranda came through the doorway, tripped over them, and fell all over the floor. Vincent was first one to get up. With expert precision he fired off round after round destroying the last of the Heartless. They didn't even know what hit them.

"Now that the distractions are out of the way…," the gunslinger spoke coldly as he reloaded. "We can finish our battle."

He fired a shot at Trevor, but the keyblader cast _Protect_ and the bullet bounced off the barrier.

All of the CDA ran out of the scarefloor to get out of the way. "These humans are too much," they screamed. "They're crazy!"

"**Rapid Fire!**" Vincent commanded and fired out a rapid barrage of bullets at Trevor. The keyblader's barrier held up pretty well, but it was starting to crack. "Now for the finishing blow," Valentine said. But before he could fire a shot, Sulley grabbed him from behind.

"Now Mikey!" Sulley ordered.

Mike scanned his keycard on the console in front of him and a door arrived on the conveyor belt. A metal clamp grabbed it and locked it in place. The Cyclops opened the door and Sulley tossed Vincent through it. Mike quickly shut the door, pressed a button, and the door was back on the conveyor belt going back to storage.

Trevor let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over with." He then gagged, fell on his knees, and tried to grab his neck.

"Trevor, are you okay?" Miranda rushed to his side. "Are you choking?"

Randall then de-camouflaged himself and revealed that he was choking the keyblader by wrapping a part of his body around his neck. "Alright," he hissed. "Give me the girl or your keyblader friend gets it!"

Now being able to see his attacker clearly, Trevor punched Randall in the face causing the monster to lose his grip. He then grabbed the purple monster and threw him on the floor, where he, Bonkers, and Miranda pinned him to the ground while Mike got another door ready.

Boo walked over to Randall and blew raspberries at him.

"Boo is no longer afraid of you, Randall. Looks like you're out of a job," Sulley smiled as another door appeared. Mike opened the door and Sulley picked up Randall by the scuff of his neck. "Let's see how you like being banished to the human world!" With that the blue monster tossed Randall in and Mike closed the door.

"Now is it safe?" Trevor rubbed his neck. "There aren't any more evil monsters with the ability to turn invisible or camouflage themselves, are they?"

"Not until the night shift, kid," Mike smiled messing with the keyblader.

Sulley picked up Boo and smiled at her. "We can finally send you back home, Boo!"

"Not so fast," everyone turned around and saw Henry J. Waternoose creeping toward them. "I didn't agree with his methods, but Randall was on the right track. His solution will solve the scare shortage and provide everyone with the power that they need."

"So what are you going to do? Kidnap hundreds of children and drain the screams out of them?!" Trevor pointed his keyblade at the crab-like monster.

"Mr. Waternoose, I know that scaring kids today is difficult," Sulley started. "But maybe that's a better way. Maybe we get power without having to scare anybody."

"That is highly unlikely," Waternoose scoffed. "I will kidnap a thousand children if I have to in order to save this company! I'm not going to let some idealistic fools bring my life's work crashing down!" He picked up several yellow canisters and threw them down.

A chorus of screams erupted from the crackled canisters as eerie grey smoke leaked from them. The smoke started to twist and turn to various shapes as it slowly reached the nearest computer console. The smoke shorted out the electronic equipment and streams of electricity wrapped itself around the smoke cloud. The smoke now took the shape of a female apparition with flowing hair. The Heartless emblem appeared on the head of the ghostly figure and sparks of electricity would sporadically erupt from it. The new Heartless gave a ghostly wail and started zipping across the room in the form of a lightning bolt.

"Oh great…," Trevor sighed, "A Voltaic Banshee."

The Heartless resume its ghostly form and fired off several rounds of _Thundaga_. The group scattered trying to avoid the deadly bolts.

Waternoose laughed whole-heartedly. "Yes, my ghastly creation! Shock Sullivan back to his senses and destroyed the rest!"

"I'm glad he finds this all amusing," the keyblader sarcastically spat.

The Voltaic Banshee dashed in front of Bonkers and wailed in his face. The startled bobcat fell on his back and the Heartless dashed to another part of the room.

"What was that all about?" Bonkers rubbed his head, completely unaware of a pair of numbers floating above him counting down from 99.

"Bonkers, you have been cursed with _Doom_!" Trevor observed.

"Wha-?" the bobcat scratched his head not understanding.

"Look above your head!"

The cartoon looked above his head and saw the number 85 turn into the number 84. "What the-?"

"Trevor, is there any way to cure Bonkers?" Miranda asked as she dodged another _Thundaga_ spell.

"No," the keyblader lamented. "Our only hope is to defeat the banshee Heartless before the countdown reach zero."

"Why, what happens when it reaches zero?"

"He will become comatose for a long time."

The Voltaic Banshee suddenly appeared before Trevor and looked like it was going to use its _Doom Wail_. Trevor quickly cast _Soundproof_ to set up a barrier to protect himself. The ghoul screamed her ghostly wail, but the keyblader couldn't hear it. He looked above and was relieved to see that there was no numbers above him.

The enraged Heartless then transform into a bolt of lightning and crashed through the keyblader's barrier and gave him the shock of his life.

When the Heartless reverted back to its ghostly form, Sulley tried to land in some punches, but they kept going through the creature's ethereal body. The same thing happened when Miranda tried to use her sword.

"Physical attacks won't work," she cursed. "We need magic to defeat this thing!"

"Dammit and we don't have much time left," Trevor looked over at Bonkers. "We only have 42 seconds left!"

Voltaic Banshee turned into a bolt again and charged at the keyblader. Trevor quickly cast _Reflect_ and the Heartless bounced off the magical barrier and crashed into an electric coffee maker.

The coffee maker spun around for a few moments as if it was possessed by the Heartless. The machine shorted out and exploded revealing a dazed Voltaic Banshee.

"Did you see that?" Trevor said excited. "It has trouble escaping electric devices! And when the device explodes it hurts the Heartless!"

"Of course," Sulley pounded his fist into his hand. "We just need to trap it in another device, cause a huge explosion, it will destroy that creature!"

"But what are we going to trap it in?" Miranda looked around.

Trevor saw at the end of the scarefloor a door already hooked up to the console. "We will use that door," the keyblader pointed out.

"No!" Waternoose cried out. "You fools have no clue what you're messing with!"

The group ignored the crab-like monster as they made a break for the door. The Voltaic Banshee came out of its confusion. It transformed back into a bolt and darted toward the group.

"Duck!" Trevor ordered and everyone hit the floor. The Heartless crashed into the console and couldn't escape. "Quick, maximize the machine's power output!" the keyblader ordered.

"On it!" Mike said as he rapidly pushed some buttons. As the power increase, sparks fly off the console; the door shook in the metal clamp that was holding it down.

"Crap, it's not enough," Trevor said. "We need more power!"

"More power?" Sulley said thoughtfully. "We need make Boo laugh!" Mike and Sulley then tried their best to make the little girl laugh. Boo just yawn and looked at them as if to say 'Seen it all before.'

"Stand back and let a professional handle this," Bonkers cracked his knuckles.

"Whatever you planning you better do it quick," Trevor warned the bobcat. "You only have twenty seconds left!"

The cartoon pulled out a paintbrush and painted a huge red X on the floor. From behind his back he unexpectedly pulled out Jitters A. Dog.

"What am I doing here?" the cartoon dog trembled in a weak voice.

"No time to explain," Bonkers said. "Just stand here," he place Jitters on the X

"Now what?" Jitters reluctantly asked. He turned around and saw the bobcat holding a piece of rope. Bonkers let go of the rope and a strange whistling was heard. Jitters looked up and saw a piano about to crash on him. He turned to the audience and said "I hate my life…" The piano crashed on him and Boo rolled on the ground with laughter.

"No!" Waternoose yelled as the console and the door both shook violently from the power boost. The door and the console both exploded causing a shockwave that knocked everyone back a couple of feet. Suddenly a glowing white portal appeared sucking in everything in its wake. "You fools; you caused a rip in the fabric of space-time!" Waternoose yelled holding on to a bolted down table. "You opened a portal to Dimensional Limbo!"

Anything that wasn't nailed down was sucked up by the portal: chairs, paperwork, tables, if you can name it, it was pulled in. Trevor was hanging on to a handle attached to a wall. He could feel his grip slipping. The keyblader turned around and saw that the portal was getting bigger. He thought he saw a speck in the center of the portal and it was growing larger. Finally something came out of the portal and was hurled at Trevor temporary knocking him out.

Waternoose lost his grip and was sucked into the portal. "You ruined this company, Sullivan!" he yelled. "Now how is this world going to get its power?!" Having consumed organic matter the portal to Dimensional Limbo closed up leaving a wreaked room and tried, wearily warriors.

"Is everyone all right?" Miranda questioned everyone as she rubbed her aching back.

"Yeah," Sulley said holding a giggling Boo.

Mike and Bonkers uttered something stating that they were all right, but no one could find Trevor.

"Trevor?!" Miranda called out.

The keyblader groan as he slowly stirred back into consciences. "I'm here…," he said weakly feeling something hot and heavy on top of him. He pushed whatever it was off of him and was horrified to see that it was a body. Needless to say he screamed.

Everyone rushed over to see what the matter was. They saw the body and it happened to be a duck, but it was not like the ducks from _St. Canard_ or _Disney Castle_. The duck had a body like a man; in fact he was taller and had more of a muscular built than Trevor. The duck's feathers were a light golden tan. He wore a blue body suit and what looks like a bulletproof vest with shoulder pads that has a symbol of an upside down green triangle with two hockey sticks in an X formation. He had a tattoo of that same symbol on his lower left arm.

Miranda knelt over and check for a pulse. "He's alive!"

"Where did he come from?" Sulley wondered.

"From the portal," Trevor explained. "He flew (no pun intended) out of the portal and knocked me out."

"He's holding something in his hand," Bonkers observed pointing to the duck's right hand.

Trevor took the paper that the drake clutched in his hand and looked it over. "Bonkers, do you still have the book that Milo Thatch gave us?" The bobcat toss the book at the keyblader and Trevor began to flip through the pages. He found one of the torn pages and lined it up with the confiscated paper. It was a perfect match and the torn paper fused with the torn page. "Two more pages to go," the keyblader commented.

The duck began to slowly stir and blink his eyes. Miranda and Trevor slowly help him up as he rubbed his head. "Where am I?" the drake rubbed his eyes and looked at his surroundings. "Please don't tell me that I'm hallucinating again… I swear I can't take any more of this…"

"Uh dude, you're not hallucinating," Trevor spoke. "You're at… uh… What's the name of this world again?"

"_Monstropolis_," Mike answered. "And who in the heck are you?"

"Canard Thunderbeak," the drake answered. He began to feel Trevor's face. "Could this be? Have I really escape Dimensional Limbo?"

"Dude, get off of me," Trevor lightly pushed the duck away. "Wherever the heck you came from, you fell through the portal that we accidently opened."

Canard looked at his hands in disbelief. "I can't believe it… I actually escaped…"

"It's the CDA!" Mike warned them as the hazmat suit wearing monsters filed into the room.

"Number one wants to see you," one of them said. The CDA then parted to make room for their leader. Their leader was an old slug woman, wearing spectacles and had her graying hair stand up with lots and lots of hair spray. She slowly oozed through the room not looking pleased.

"Roz?!" both Sulley and Mike said shocked beyond belief.

"Hello boys," Roz said in a very nasally voice. "You boys almost ruined months of undercover work to bust Randall and Waternoose's plan wide open." She slowly looked around the room. "Where are they now anyway?"

"Randall? We banished the little creep to the human world," Mike huffed.

"As for Henry Waternoose?" Roz urged.

"He is kinda stuck in between dimensions…," Trevor said.

Roz mouth twitched a little. "A shame," she said bitterly. "I am deprived of the joy of arresting him. And another thing…" she turned to Trevor and the others. "It seems like we have a human infestation on our hands," she readjusted her spectacles.

"Don't say that we are an infestation," Trevor yelled.

"We only came to this world to help you!" Miranda added.

"And that's the only reason why we haven't given you the boot," Roz wheezed. "As for the girl," she turned back to Sulley. "She needs to go back to her world."

Boo's closet door came down the conveyor belt and locked itself to a console that hasn't been damaged.

"You have five minutes to say your goodbyes," she told Sulley.

The blue monster slowly nodded, picked up Boo, and went through the white door with pink flowers. After a sad goodbye, Sulley came back and closed the door. "She's safe now."

The door started glowing and the keyhole of the world appeared. Trevor lifted up his keyblader and locked the world. The keyhole faded away and transformed back to Boo's closet door. "Now your world is safe," the keyblader stated.

"And that's the way it's going to stay," Roz said as she snapped her fingers. The CDA brought a giant wood chipper and threw Boo's door in.

"No!" Sulley cried.

"It's the way it should be," Roz said. "She may be young, but she seen too much. The world order must be protected. When she grows up she will only think of this event as a dream and will forget about the existence of other worlds." The slug woman turned to Trevor, Miranda, Bonkers, and Canard. "I trust you four can find your way out and not tell anybody about the existence of this world. We do not want any more unexpected visitors."

"Excuse me," Canard said, "but I need to find my team. They need me to lead them in the fight against Dragaunus!"

"Not my problem," Roz said not caring one bit. "You can find your 'team' on your own."

"What will happen to the company?" Sulley asked.

"Since Waternoose never named an heir it will shut down," Roz stated as she turned to ooze away. "Oh and Wazowski," she said to Mike. "Even though the company is going to close its doors I'm going to need that paperwork." The CDA filed out leaving the scarefloor.

Sulley picked up a piece of Boo's door and sighed.

"Great, just great," Mike huffed. "We are out of a job and soon this world will be without power! We're going to get run out of town! Can this day get any worse?"

"Well, obviously you going to need a new source of power," Miranda stated.

"But what is powerful as screams?" Mike said.

"Well, every time Boo laughed the power in this place went crazy. Maybe if you find a way to stabilize it you can use that as a power source," suggested Trevor.

"Or you can use electricity," Miranda deadpanned.

"That's not a bad idea, Trevor," Sulley said perking up.

"Or you can use electricity," the blonde repeated.

"I can buy the company, hire back all the scarers, teach them how to make children laugh, and no one would have to go without power!"

"Or you can just use electricity."

"Trevor, Sulley, you two are geniuses!" Mike praised.

"Why no one listens to me?" Miranda sighed.

"We need to get started on this right away!" the blue monster said excited. "Thanks for your help guys! We couldn't have done it without you."

"It was nothing," the keyblader said. "Helping people is what we do."

Sulley nodding and him and Mike walked out of the room planning for the future.

"So, you guys help people," the duck said. "You guys need to help me find my team. Or at least get me to my homeworld, _Puckworld_. The fate my world maybe the whole universe depends on it."

"Sure, why not? We can add one more thing in our ever-increasing to-do list," Trevor said sarcastically.

"He means, we'll help," Miranda said. "Where is your homeworld?"

"Don't know. It's been so long…," Canard said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure we will find it or your team on our journey," Trevor stated. "I mean how many worlds with ducks are there?"

**KH-KH-KH**

Anastasia ran as if her life depended on it as she searched for Dimitri. She wandered into a hedge maze looking for the former conman. "Dimitri?" she called out. "Where are you?!"

An icy wind blew through the maze and as the grand duchess hugged herself for warm, she heard a dark voice whispering her name in the wind. She followed the voice out of the maze and onto a bridge. An eerie fog rolled in and Anastasia could barely see what's in front of her.

"Anastasia…," the voice called out again. The duchess walked a little further until she saw a man approaching her. "Your highness, the Grand Duchess Anastasia," Rasputin repeated giving a mock bow. "Look what the past ten years have done to us. You became a beautiful flower; very much the shining star of the imperial court you once were, while I became nothing more than a walking, decaying corpse."

"I know that face," Anastasia said in shock. "You're the one who cast the Romanoff curse. Rasputin!"

"Rasputin!" the dark wizard said in a shrill voice mocking the duchess. "I could not rest because you lived despite my efforts to wipe out your family. Your family had cast me out and ruined my dreams of power. What goes around comes around. Soon you will be dead and my vengeance will be complete! There is no one to save you now!"

"She's not alone!" Rasputin turned around and saw Cynthia, Max, and PJ heading toward him. "We're here to protect her!"

"Ah, the keyblader…," Rasputin said slowly. "I was planning to deal with you later after I finish killing the last of the Romanoffs. No matter… I can kill two lovely birds with one stone." He raised his hands in the air and summoned a giant Heartless known as the Night Charger. The monster was in the shape of a giant Pegasus, had black fur, and a mane of fire. Its eyes glow a bright yellow and when it snorted ash and smoke flew out of its nostrils. The Heartless emblem was on its chest and gave off an eerie purple glow. The creature of darkness was easily two stories tall and when it trotted the bridge shook beneath it.

"Oh…," Cynthia started.

"Crap…," both Max and PJ finished.

The Night Charger erupted in flames and rushed toward the heroes. "Duck and cover!" Cynthia grabbed Anastasia and drove to the ground. The Heartless charged past them, spread its wings, and rose in the air. The monster circled the bridge for a bit before slamming into the center of the bridge causing a shockwave.

"PJ, it's time for that new layup we were working on," Cynthia yelled.

The cat-teen nodded and gathered all the mana he can muster. "**Meteor!**" he cast. Dozens of balls of gigantic red energy orbs fell from the sky and hit the Night Charger causing it to stumble back.

"_Symphonic Rewrite:_ **Cosmic Maelstrom!**" Cynthia cast. The remaining meteors of PJ's spell grew much larger and started swirling around the Heartless. The enlarged meteors then pummeled the creature of darkness sending it crashing to the ground.

Before it had a chance to get back up, both Cynthia and Max charged the monster slicing it with their weapons. "**Radiating Vigor!**" Max yelled as his sword glowed a bright icy white. Quick as lightning he strikes the Heartless seven times before leaping back and discharged a quick energy burst.

Seething with pain, the Night Charger launched a huge fireball from its mouth. The attack flew past Cynthia, Max, and PJ and headed straight for Anastasia.

"Anastasia, no!" Cynthia yelled as the spell reached closer to its target.

Just in the nick of time, Dimitri came out of nowhere and pulled the duchess away from the blast.

"Dimitri," Anastasia said in shock. "I thought you went back to St. Petersburg."

"Well, I changed my mind," the former conman said. "Besides, I somehow knew that you and Cynthia would get into trouble."

"That's very funny," the keyblader sarcastically spat. "Now if you don't mind we have a huge problem on our hands."

The Heartless got back up and fired round after round of huge fireballs. However, Max was ready for them. "**Reflect Blade!**" he shouted and his sword was covered by a transparent field. With expert timing, Max blocked every fireball and hit them back at the Heartless. The monster staggered back; it was on its last legs.

"Destroy them!" Rasputin ordered impatiently. "Show them your fury! Let vengeance be mine! Kill them and maybe I can obtain the power of the keyblade!"

"Let's end this!" Cynthia called out to Max and PJ.

"Right!" they both responded.

All three of them charged the creature from all sides: PJ from the front, Max the left, and Cynthia from the right. "_Trinity Limit:_ **Celestial Backlash!**" the keyblader yelled. PJ raised his staff and summoned several magic made platforms. Max and Cynthia jumped on the floating stages and started hacking away at the Heartless as they hop from platform to platform. After both warriors slashed the monster seven times, PJ depleted his mana trapping the Heartless in a barrier so small it could barely move.

"Final strike!" both the keyblader and the squire yelled. They both jumped high in the air and pierce their weapons on the top of the barrier. The barrier began to pulse with light until it finally shattered. The shards of the magic barrier then cut the Heartless as if it was hit by the _1000 Needles_ spell. The Night Charger fell hard on the bridge's railing and knocked over one of its statues before releasing its heart.

The statue broke apart and a small piece of it hit Dimitri on the head.

"No!" Anastasia yelled as she rushed to the young man's side.

Another broken piece knocked the mystic artifact from Rasputin's hand. "My artifact!" he yelled as he chase after it as it rolled away. Before the undead mystic could grab it, Cynthia smashed her foot on it. "No, you'll destroy it!"

"I don't know. After what you put us through, I just might." Cynthia stepped on it again.

"No!"

"Allow me, Cynthia," Anastasia marched up with tears in her eyes. "This is for my family!" She brought her foot down hard on the artifact. "This is for me and all those wasted years!" She brought her foot down a second time. "And time… This is for Dimitri!" Bringing her foot down for a third time was the charm. The evil relic shattered into a million pieces and dispersed into green flames. The dark wizard gave an ear piercing scream as green fire started to consume him. In one final explosion, the green flames shot up into the night sky and fizzled out. The undead mystic known as Rasputin was no more.

Anastasia and the others rushed to Dimitri's side. The young man was very still and didn't move a single muscle. The duchess closed her eyes and wept over Dimitri. The three travelers knelt down and hung their heads low.

Then a miracle happened; Dimitri coughed and began to stir.

"Dimitri!" Anastasia rejoiced and practically tackled the young man to the ground with a bear hug. "You're alive!"

"Not for long if you keep tackling me like that," the young man winced in pain. "Anastasia… I wanted to tell you before I left that I… I care deeply for you. However, a kitchen boy and a duchess can't be together… so…"

Anastasia interrupted him and kissed him on the lips.

"About time," Cynthia huffed.

"I don't care Dimitri," the duchess as she took off her diamond tiara. "I love you, Dimitri. I don't need to be royalty to be happy. All I need is you."

The tiara started glowing and slowly became the keyhole to the world. The keyblader raised her weapon and locked the world.

"I can't thank you guys enough," Anastasia said to the three universe travelers as she held Dimitri's hand. "You three were there for us and expected nothing in return."

"That's what friends do," Cynthia simply put it. "We help each other. Just don't get kidnapped by bats again… If you do Dimitri will have to save you."

Everyone laughed and sighed. The group said their goodbyes and Cynthia, Max, and PJ watched as Anastasia and Dimitri left them hand in hand.

"What do you think is going to happen to them?" PJ asked.

"Marriage, I hope," Cynthia said with a dreamy look in her eyes, but then sighed heavily. "I wonder when I going to find that special someone?"

"What, you given up hope on Trevor already?" Max laughed. "I thought that 'em Birch boys were your cup of tea."

The keyblader slapped her friend on the back of his head so hard that he fell over.

**Next Chapter: Brian Goes to Jail!**

**PJ's Blog Updated!**

**New Characters:**

Anya/Anastasia: Anastasia(1997)

Dimitri: Anastasia(1997)

Vladimir Vanya Voinitsky Vasilovich: Anastasia(1997)

Rasputin: Anastasia(1997)

Bartok: Anastasia(1997)

Zozi: Bartok the Magnificent(2001)

Empress Marie Feodorovna: Anastasia(1997)

Sophie Somorkov Sminoff: Anastasia(1997)

Cynthia's future husband: ?

Keyblader with the brown leather jacket: ?

Blonde Keyblader: ?

**Miranda's Log Updated!**

**Even More New Characters:**

Randall Boggs: Monsters, Inc.(2001)

Henry J. Waternoose: Monsters, Inc.(2001)

Boo: Monsters, Inc.(2001)

Roz: Monsters, Inc.(2001)

Canard Thunderbeak: Disney's The Mighty Ducks: the Animated Series(1997)

**A/N: Whew! This chapter took me a long time to write. To you Anastasia fans out there, I know that I have switched and altered some scenes around (especially when the Empress is convinced that Anya is in fact Anastasia) but I only did it to keep the chapter from becoming unnecessarily long. Furthermore, I bet you are wondering about future Cynthia and why she (will) travel back in time to the events of Bartok the Magnificent. Unfortunately that won't be revealed until Volume 2. But don't worry; there are tons of mysteries to be solved in Volume 1, so stay tune.**


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